


Love Makes You Do The Wacky

by tmn1966



Category: CW Network RPF, Supernatural RPF
Genre: Light Angst, M/M, Romance, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-23
Updated: 2014-06-23
Packaged: 2018-02-05 21:45:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1833340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmn1966/pseuds/tmn1966
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared was excited to move to Red Bluff, Texas to fulfill his dream to open an inn with his best friend, Misha. He wasn’t expecting anything more than that, but Jared loved that life was full of surprises.</p>
<p>When Jensen came to Red Bluff, he’d bought a diner and had been perfectly happy that it took over all aspects of his life. Until Jared walked through the door. </p>
<p>Think <i>Gilmore Girls</i> with a bit of the quirk and all of the romance between an optimistic inn keeper and a slightly grumpy diner owner. If you watched <i>Gilmore Girls</i> you'll find a few familiar things, though it’s <i>not</i> a retelling of the series, it is a nice little romance with a dash of angst.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [spn-j2_bigbang](http://spn-j2-bigbang.livejournal.com/) challenge.
> 
> Please check out becc_j's [**Art Master Post**](http://becc-j.livejournal.com/21151.html).
> 
> First and foremost, so very many thank yous to becc_j for her awesome artwork. I was over the moon when she chose my fic and I couldn't have asked for a better collaborator for this challenge! Please make sure to go and give her some love by following the art link above. My heartfelt thanks to sandymg for her fabulous beta work, her insights and suggestions were, as always, invaluable. Very humble thanks to the mods at spn_j2_bigbang for organizing and keeping this challenge going. Finally, huge thanks to the_rant_girl. This started out as a birthday fic for her and she has waited oh so patiently for it and very graciously waited even longer by giving her blessing for me to enter it into this challenge. 
> 
> Title comes from _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_

[](http://s417.photobucket.com/user/tmn1966/media/chapter1_zps792e3fdd.jpg.html)

Upon spotting the ‘Welcome to Red Bluff’ sign, Jared’s adrenaline spike made him mildly surprised that he hadn’t vibrated right out of the car. Thankfully, Misha was an awesome navigator and had kept him on the right path when Jared was too busy yapping about how much it kicked ass that they were finally business partners – a dream that had started in college ten years ago – and they’d be opening their very own inn soon. 

When they pulled into town, Jared slowed the car down to a crawl. It was the first time they were actually seeing the small, quaint community of Red Bluff, Texas, as more than just a blur as they sped past it. They had come to preview the property four months ago, but only had time to see the inn before they had to get back to their regular jobs. Now, this was going to be their regular job. And Red Bluff was everything Jared had imagined. A town square with an actual gazebo, lush and beautiful landscaping, small businesses lining the streets and a fair amount of people bustling about.

“Ooooh,” Jared breathed, coming to a full stop in front of a building. “A bakery. Let’s go in. I’m starving.”

“Jared,” Misha sighed, “we need to eat a proper meal. Not cakes, pies and cookies.”

“But we’ve been on the road for three days and I’ve stopped at every place you deemed acceptable. Please, just let’s go in and introduce ourselves at the very least. And I can just pick up something for myself to eat at the hotel later. When you’re not with me.”

After a moment, Misha gave a nod. “It _is_ good business sense to make a friendly showing within the community.”

Jared threw the car into park quickly before his best friend changed his mind. He was already getting out of the car before Misha was even free from his seat belt.

Nose pressed to the glass, Jared peered through the window. It was a cute shop with round tables set up with a coffee station and a large display case. Man, this town was so perfect. 

“Quit being creepy and let’s go in,” Misha said with a roll of his eyes.

Jared looked up at the sign above the doorway as they were walking in. Everything Nice Bakery. “Aww,” he said with a grin. “Sugar and spice.”

“What are you going on about?” Misha asked with another sigh. And Jared understood. It had been a long trip, they still had to find a place to live and a good contractor and although Jared was a whiz when it came to business sense, he couldn’t conjure up an endless supply of money and patrons out of thin air. They had a lot of work ahead of them.

“The name of the shop,” Jared said as he walked up to the counter and hit the little bell to summon someone. “Everything Nice... you know, as in sugar and spice and everything nice. It’s cute.”

“Why thank you, kind sir,” a drop dead gorgeous redhead said as she walked through the doorway from the back room. “I thought it was pretty clever.”

Jared’s attention dropped down to the display case, almost drooling at all the confections contained within, but it was the cupcakes that kept calling to him. “Oh my god,” he groaned, “I have to try an inside out peanut butter cup.”

“You got it,” she said with a smile and pulled the cupcake out of the case. He reached for it without thinking and took a bite of it once she’d handed it over. It was even more delicious than he imagined.

“Jared!” Misha sounded shocked, and really, he shouldn’t have, he’d been Jared’s friend long enough to know that sometimes his stomach overruled everything else.

“It’s okay,” the woman said with a laugh. “It’s quite the compliment actually.”

Jared grinned at her and continued to eat. Well, it really only took three bites and he was done, which was a shame, but that meant he could try another.

“No,” Misha said, his mind reading skills obviously back on track. “You promised me some real food.”

“I don’t have real food?” the woman asked with a cute little pout.

“No, of course you do,” Misha stammered a little and his cheeks were flushed. Jared thought it was hilarious that his best friend was so flustered. “Just, you know, he’d spend all afternoon eating all your glorious treats, and I’m more of a traditionalist.” Jared snorted at that and Misha gave him a glare. “I like to eat a meal and _then_ get dessert.”

“There’s a diner across the street and down a block. Lots of _traditional_ food there, if that’s what you have your heart set on,” she said, giving Jared a wink.

Jared grinned and turned to look out the window, and he could make out a sign. Luke’s Diner. He hadn’t even seen it before. It didn’t seem like it was too busy, but it was also mid-afternoon – too late for the lunch crowd, too early for dinner. For Jared that meant perfect timing.

“So,” Misha said, trying to sound casual but Jared could hear the nerves underneath even in just that one word. “This is your shop?”

“It is,” the woman said proudly. “Danneel Harris.”

“I’m Misha Collins. The giant peering out your window currently drooling over what kind of meal he can get at that diner is my best friend, Jared Padalecki. We’ve just acquired the old inn on Walnut Road.”

Danneel’s exclamation of, “Oh, so you’re the ones!” had Jared turning around.

“You’ve heard?” Misha asked.

“Small town,” she said with an apologetic smile and a small shrug. “Everyone knows your business almost before you do.”

“What’s the consensus?” Jared couldn’t help asking.

“Pretty much everyone’s excited. Some folks, you know, they’re Eeyore’s and think anything new or different can’t be good.”

“I guess that’s anywhere you go,” Jared said.

“What’s really got the town buzzing is what you’re going to name it,” Danneel said, leaning her elbows on the counter.

“The Gingerbread Inn,” Misha answered immediately.

“It is not!” Jared said, giving his friend the stink eye. They’d had this argument dozens of times already.

“I don’t see why we can’t get an impartial party’s opinion,” Misha said innocently.

“What’s the other choice?” Danneel asked.

“There is no choice,” Jared sighed. “It’s already registered as The Good Night Inn.”

“I like it,” she said with a grin. At Misha’s hum of disappointment, she reached out and patted his arm. “But yours was cute, too. How’d he win?”

“Rock, paper, scissors,” Misha said. “He got me two out of three.”

Danneel giggled. “You two are gonna fit in here just fine.”

They made it out of the shop ten minutes later with a dozen assorted cupcakes, a half dozen lemon sandwich cookies and a rhubarb-pineapple pie.

“Don’t eat all of _this_ tonight,” Misha said even as he helped carefully place the packages in the backseat. 

“Of course not. But I had to get the pie, because seriously, it sounds so tasty. I’ve only ever had rhubarb-strawberry pie.”

“Okay. And the cupcakes?”

“They’re awesome cupcakes.”

“Uh-huh.” Misha shut the door with a little more force than necessary and they started to walk down the street toward the diner. “What about the cookies.”

“You love lemon!”

“You could’ve bought just one for each of us.”

“Bought only two? That would’ve been insulting,” Jared scoffed.

“Well don’t blame me when you weigh as much as a horse.”

“You’ve known my eating habits how long?”

“Someday it’s gonna catch up with you,” Misha sing-songed as Jared held open the door to the diner. “And I for one am going to laugh my ass off when it happens.”

“And prance around me saying ‘I told you so’?”

“Absolutely.”

Jared stopped and looked around. A mish-mosh of tables and chairs were arranged neatly around the room and only one patron was seated. The guy, who didn’t look much older than Jared, blond and a bit scruffy, was holding up a French fry and inspecting it intently. 

“You’re supposed to eat it, Chad, not stare at it,” a woman said coming from behind the counter with a warm smile.

“There’s more salt on at least thirty percent of the fries, Sam,” Chad complained. “I want new fries that are salted evenly.”

“Shut it, Chad. You know what’ll happen if I take ‘em back.” Sam walked by the young man and smacked him upside the head. Jared snorted because at first he’d thought she looked like a nice motherly type. He amended that to a mom who didn’t take any shit.

“Ow!” Chad said, rubbing the spot where she’d hit him. “But, Sam.”

“Hush now and eat your food,” she said fondly before turning her attention back to Jared and Misha. “Howdy, boys. Here for food or directions?”

“Food,” they said together and Sam’s smile broadened. 

“Take a seat anywhere you’d like, menus are on the table. Get you something to drink?”

“Water please,” they answered in unison.

Sam chuckled. “You two are adorable.”

Jared pointed a finger at Misha and warned, “Don’t say it.”

“Moi,” Misha said with exaggerated innocence. “Why? Whatever would _I_ say?”

“Sit,” Sam ordered affectionately before heading off toward the back.

They chose a table by Chad, who leaned over and whispered, “Don’t order the fries.”

“I heard that Murray!” a male voice yelled from the back.

“Seriously,” Chad more or less mouthed. “No fries.”

Jared craned his neck. “I dunno they look pretty tasty to me.”

Sam was back and set their waters on their table before scooping up Chad’s basket of fries and placing it in front of Jared.

“Hey!” Chad complained loudly. “Those are mine.”

“You weren’t gonna eat ‘em,” Sam explained patiently. “And you know Jensen would ban you again if you order food and don’t eat it.”

“But,” Chad spluttered. “They weren’t salted evenly.”

“There’s a salt shaker on your table, Murray.” The mysterious voice was closer this time causing Jared to look up. He had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. The guy behind the counter was the most gorgeous man he’d ever seen. He wore his baseball cap backwards, with an unbuttoned blue plaid flannel shirt over top a black t-shirt and looked as if he hadn’t shaved in a day or two.

“It’s not the same,” Chad lamented. “The salt needs to be added as soon as they’re out of the fryer.”

The man pointed his finger at the door, his lips thinned out and his eyebrows arched.

“Jensen,” Chad whined. “Can’t I at least eat my burger?”

“I’ll wrap it up,” Sam said, weaving her way back to the counter.

“Do I have to pay for the fries? Sam gave ‘em to Ginormo over there,” Chad said as he dug his wallet out of his back pocket.

Jared munched on a fry, which was crispy and seasoned just right for his taste. “Add ‘em to my order,” he called out.

“Thanks, man,” Chad said with a brilliant smile. “You’re awesome!”

“No problem,” Jared said with a small huff of laughter. This town was even more perfect than he’d anticipated.

“Stop bothering the customers, Murray,” Jensen grumbled as Sam stepped around him with a takeout box and paper cup.

“I’m a customer, too, ya know,” Chad said indignantly as he helped Sam box up his burger and pour his drink into the to-go cup.

“You’re here because Sam let you in,” Jensen said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Not me.”

“I don’t even know how you stay in business,” Chad groused, handing Sam a few bills.

“I have a very nice business, thank you very much. Now vamoose,” Jensen said, making a shooing motion.

Chad picked up his food and drink as he harrumphed his way out of the diner.

“Decide on more than just fries?” Sam asked.

“Any recommendations?” Misha asked. “Anything organic by any chance?”

“Everything here is fresh,” Jensen said, his eyes narrowing a little.

“Which is very good to hear,” Misha said with a nod. “But that’s not what organic –”

Jared kicked Misha’s shin and interrupted loudly, “We’ll take two cheese burgers and another order of fries. You got milkshakes?”

“We do,” Sam confirmed with a smile.

“Jared.” Misha sighed. “You just bought a bunch of sweets at the bakery, do you really need a _milkshake_?”

“Yes,” Jared insisted with a grin. “Peanut butter?”

“You got it,” Sam said with a wink, heading off once again to the kitchen.

“Hit up Danneel’s already, huh?” Jensen asked with a smirk.

Misha rolled his eyes and hooked a thumb at Jared. “His body’s a divining rod for sweets.”

Jensen chuckled. “Nice.”

“Thanks,” Jared said with a huge grin. “My talents, they are many.”

“I just bet.”

“Please don’t encourage him,” Misha begged. “You see how huge he is? Trust me, his ego’s twice as big.”

Jared sucked in a scandalized breath and punched Misha’s arm hard. “Take that back, my ego is just right.”

“Jeez, Jared!” Misha said with a scowl as he rubbed at his arm. “That constitutes as abuse, you know.”

“I’ll show you abuse,” Jared mock threatened.

“You always hurt the one you love,” Misha said, putting his head on Jared’s shoulder, looking up at him with an exaggerated pout.

Jared wiggled his shoulders, dislodged his best friend and shook his head. “And you say I’m a goofball.”

As they waited for their food, Jensen and Sam filled them in on the town – the farmers’ market, the grocers, realtors, churches, contractors – while Misha and Jared shared their plans for the new inn. By the time they left, they had a list of people and places to see.

~o0o~

It was late when they finally got to their hotel rooms, side-by-side with a connecting door, and Jared was exhausted. They already met with a couple of contractors and made appointments with them to go up to the inn to check it out and write them up some estimates. They also made it to the farmers’ market where Misha exclaimed that he was in heaven and spent hours walking around introducing himself and making contacts for future vendors. It was a very productive but exhaustive day.

Jared was unpacking a few of his necessities when Misha walked through the door between their rooms.

“So, Jensen’s nice,” Misha said a little too casually.

“Stop,” Jared sighed on his way to the bathroom with his shaving kit. He wanted a nice hot shower, then to fall into the nice comfy looking bed and sleep for a hundred years or so.

“I’m just pointing it out.”

Jared poked his head out of the bathroom door. “Shall I point out the way you drooled all over Danneel?”

“I did not!”

“Did so!”

“Okay fine, I did.”

Jared laughed because sometimes Misha gave up too easily, but in this case, Jared was actually glad for it. Yes, he found Jensen very attractive and there was some chemistry there. But. “Dude, I don’t have time for a relationship. And I don’t even know if Jensen is gay.”

“He is,” Misha said.

Okay, that got Jared’s attention and he came back out into the room. “How did you find out?”

“I know these things,” Misha said sagely.

“Uh huh,” Jared grunted doubtfully.

“My gaydar is way better than yours.”

“Sure, keep telling yourself that. Should I bring up the Matt Cohen incident?”

“No, I really rather you didn’t,” Misha said sheepishly. “But that was just _one_ time and you guys ended up as good friends.”

“Lucky for you. Now vamoose, I’m gonna take a shower.”

“Vamoose. That’s Jensen’s word,” Misha said with a smirk.

“He doesn’t own the word,” Jared said with a roll of his eyes.

“You like him,” Misha sing-songed his way back to his room.

“Nothing’s gonna happen between Jensen and me, except maybe friendship. That’s probably what you’re better at detecting than any kind of romance.”

Misha turned and studied him for a moment. “Well, I guess I could approve of a friendship between the two of you.”

Jared picked up a pair of socks from his suitcase that had been folded into ball and threw them at his best friend. Misha dodged it easily, laughing. “Those are mine now, they landed in my room.” He shut the door and Jared heard him twist the lock. “Mine!” Misha shouted through the door.

“You’re a nutball,” Jared shouted but couldn’t help laughing. There really wasn’t anyone who Jared would rather be in business with other than Misha.

~o0o~

Jared gave up trying to pretend that lying in bed meant he was sleeping when the digital clock on the bedside hit four a.m. The room was comfortable, not too hot or cold, but there was too much on his mind. He sorted through some of the information he’d written down from yesterday and even had another shower. Unfortunately that had only taken up an hour. He decided to go for a walk around the town, get a feel for it when there wasn’t much activity.

It was peaceful and although there was a bit of a chill still in the air, it felt good as Jared meandered around and it wasn’t all that surprising when he found himself in front of Luke’s Diner. There were some lights on, but the sign said they didn’t open until six thirty, so Jared sat down on the stoop to wait it out.

It was only a few minutes later that he heard the click of the locks. “Hey,” Jensen said opened the door. “You’re here bright and early.”

“Yeah. Couldn’t sleep,” Jared said, shuffling his way to the counter and slid down onto a stool. “There was, you know, turning and tossing. And then some tossing and turning.”

“Ah. Insomnia.”

“Please say you have the coffee ready.”

“Sure do,” Jensen said with a chuckle as he grabbed a huge mug and plunked it down in front of Jared. “Like something to eat?” he asked as he filled the mug to the brim.

“Eggs and pancakes when you can get to them. I know you’re not officially open yet.”

“I’ll just finish setting up the dining room first. Only take me a moment.”

As Jensen pulled the chairs from the tables, Jared wrapped his hand around the mug and swiveled on the stool so he could keep an eye on Jensen. He took his first sip and let out an appreciative moan. “You know the hotel has those little coffee makers in the room, but they don’t hold a candle to this.”

“Thanks,” Jensen said with a chuckle. “I don’t know where I’d be without my morning coffee.”

“I hear ya.” 

“So, something bothering you, or were you just having one of those nights?”

“Stuff about the inn.”

“Yeah?”

“It needs a lot of work. And Misha is chomping at the bit to get his kitchen set up, especially since he made some connections at the farmers’ market yesterday. And we need to find apartments or houses or whatever, and –”

“Wait,” Jensen interrupted. “Houses?”

“Yeah. You know, one for Misha and one for me.”

“So, you two aren’t… together?” Jensen said as he swirled his finger in the air.

“Misha? And me?” Jared threw his head back and laughed. It wasn’t the first time they’d been mistaken for a couple, but he never failed to find it hilarious. “No way, man. Misha’s straight. We’re just best friends who went into a _business_ partnership together. No hanky, no panky. I swear.”

“Huh.”

“Is that a good _huh_ or a bad one?”

Jensen shrugged. “Neither. Just, I guess it seemed like you two were close.”

“What? You’re not supposed to be close to your best friend?”

“No, no, it wasn’t that,” Jensen said, sounding flustered. “It’s just.”

Jared snorted and waved a hand in the air. “I get it. We act like an old married couple. We’ve been told that before. But Misha’s just Misha and I’m…”

“You?” Jensen supplied.

“Yeah,” Jared snorted. “Can I blame the ‘not very good at explaining things’ on my sleepy brain?”

“Sure,” Jensen said with a sniff. “I’ll give you a pass this time.”

“Thanks,” he said with a grin, but frowned slightly when Jensen went into the kitchen. Jared picked up his mug and followed him.

“Uh, just gonna make your breakfast now,” Jensen said, motioning to the stove.

“Awesome.”

“Normally customers wait out there for their food.”

“Right, but then there would be shouting.”

Jensen went to the fridge and pulled out some eggs and milk. “There’s gonna be shouting?”

“Not any more, no. Since I’m here, I can talk to you in my regular voice.”

“Oh, you’re one of _those_ people,” Jensen said, setting the food down on the counter and grabbing a mixing bowl.

“Those people?” Jared asked with a chuckle. 

“Who like to talk. Can’t stand silence.”

“And what? You’re the opposite?”

“Yup.”

“Well, okay, then. I’ll just go back and warm up my seat at the counter.”

Jensen gave him a nod as he measured out some flour and dumped it into the bowl.

Jared tried. He really did. But it was far too quiet. “So, have you lived here all your life?” he called out.

“Jared.”

“Yeah?”

“Come back in here,” Jensen said with resignation.

Jared grinned and re-filled his mug on the way. Jensen was waiting for him, a finger raised in warning. “This is just for today. You can’t do this all the time.”

“Oh, totally understand,” he promised, holding up his hand as if taking an oath. He leaned his hip against the counter and asked again, “So, how long have you lived here?”

“Moved here about three years ago. Danneel and Adrianne told me it was a cool place to live and the diner was for sale so I thought why the hell not.”

“Wait. You _own_ the diner?”

“Yeah,” Jensen said slowly.

“But it’s called Luke’s not Jensen’s.”

“Right.”

“So who’s Luke?”

“The guy I bought it from. He wanted to retire. It was just easier to keep the name and besides, who’s gonna want to eat at a place called _Jensen’s_?”

“The same people who would want to eat at Luke’s I’d imagine,” Jared said with a laugh.

Jensen gave him a half shrug. “How do you want your eggs?”

“Scrambled please.”

The back door opened and an older gentleman walked through wearing a t-shirt and jeans, baseball cap on his head. He looked between Jensen and Jared a moment before sighing. “What’re y’all doing in my kitchen?”

“First off,” Jensen said, “this is _my_ kitchen, you work for me, remember? And secondly, Jared had a sleepless night.”

“Uh huh. That’s what they’re calling it these days?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, old man,” Jensen said teasingly. 

“So you’re Jared, huh?” 

“Yeah. Jared Padalecki,” he said, moving forward and holding out his hand, which the guy took immediately and shook.

“Jim Beaver. My wife, Sam, couldn’t shut up about you and that other fella you were with. Heard tell you two are taking on the old inn up on Walnut.”

“We are,” Jared said proudly. “And Misha Collins is my business partner.”

“Misha,” Jim repeated softly. “Knew it was something weird. Don’t any of your parents name kids regular ole names any more. It’s gotta be _Jensen_ or _Misha_.”

“Well, I dunno, I think Jared is a pretty average name.”

“That it is,” Jim conceded with a grin.

“Here, you cantankerous old fart,” Jensen said, stepping away from the stove. “You can cook up Jared’s pancakes and scrambled eggs while I finish prepping.”

“Yes, your highness,” Jim said accompanied by an eye roll.

“I’ll go wait back at the counter,” Jared said.

“Nah, you can stay back here,” Jensen said. “We don’t mind.”

Jim gave Jensen a bit of a funny look but then just shrugged and said, “Yeah, fine with me. Make yourself at home.”

“Hey, Jim, isn’t the McKenna place for sale?” Jensen asked as he began to chop up some vegetables.

“Mmm, think so,” Jim said thoughtfully as he tended the stove. “Have to ask Chad.”

“Chad? What the hell for?” Jensen asked, looking over his shoulder.

“He’s the agent.”

“ _Chad_?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

Jim finished cracking some eggs into a bowl before asking, “What’s so hard to understand? Boy’s got a different job every few weeks.”

Jared had watched the exchange with amusement. “Chad? You mean the guy in here yesterday who thought the fries weren’t salted properly?”

“Yeah, that’s him,” Jensen said with animosity. “What I want to know is how he keeps getting hired anywhere.”

Jim shrugged. “He’s got a certain amount of charm and he’s pretty damn successful at whatever job he’s doin’ at the time. Says he doesn’t want to limit himself. Whatever that means.”

“Dammit,” Jensen said with a sigh.

“What?” Jared asked.

“I was going to tell you the McKenna place might be perfect for you and Misha. It’s a duplex, side by side, but if you buy it that means the kid will still have a great fuckin’ success ratio.”

Jared couldn’t help but laugh at Jensen’s sour look. 

“It’s move in ready according to Chad,” Jim said. “Don’t know about the price though.”

“I’ll check into it,” Jared said. “Thanks.”

“Delivery,” a female voice called from the back entrance.

Jensen stopped chopping and wiped his hands on a dishtowel before hurrying to the door. He held it open for a tall, leggy blonde carrying what looked like bakery boxes.

“Oooh, full house,” she said with a smile. Her eyes lit up when she took in Jared. “You must be one of the guys taking over the Walnut Road Inn. Jared?”

“Yeah,” he said, flummoxed. “How’d you know?”

“My girlfriend couldn’t shut up about you and your friend, Misha,” she said as she set the boxes down on some free counter space.

“Girlfriend?” Jared and Misha had talked to so many different people yesterday, it was hard to say who it had been.

“Yeah, Danneel. Owns the bakery that you supposedly wanted to deplete. I’m Adrianne. I don’t usually work at the bakery, but thought I’d help her out this morning since she had so much more baking to do than usual.”

Jared shared her laugh but was also trying to connect all the dots – it really was a small town – but one thing stood out. “Oh man, Misha is going to be so disappointed.”

“Why’s that?” she asked.

“He was hoping Danneel was single.”

“Interesting,” she said. “I’ll be sure to tell her. Well, I’ve got to get to the garage. See y’all later.”

Jared’s head was already spinning a little with all the activity and information when Jim said, “Breakfast is ready. Just need to get you some syrup and butter.”

“Syrup only, please,” Jared said as he took the plate Jim held out to him and headed back out into the dining room.

Once Jared had a full belly and jotted some notes down on a napkin, it was getting light out and he was prepared to take on the day. They were making headway and he felt like he could breathe a little easier.


	2. Chapter 2

[](http://s417.photobucket.com/user/tmn1966/media/chapter2_zps0dbfb71a.jpg.html)

In the two weeks since Jared and Misha hit town, one or both of them had put in an appearance at the diner at least once a day. Jensen couldn’t say he minded. He liked both men, although he seemed more naturally drawn to Jared. There was just something about the guy that made Jensen look forward to the next time he’d see him. Danneel tried to make a _thing_ of it, but Jensen was busy with the diner seven days a week, it hardly left time for anything one might call a social life. He was happy enough to call Jared a friend and let that be the end of it. 

Jensen felt a little smug that he’d found the perfect home for the newcomers. The McKenna place was now the Collins slash Padalecki house. Chad had even declared he’d found his rightful calling. Until three days later when he ended up working as a delivery driver for the local pizza joint.

This morning was really no different than any other except that he noticed Jared seemed to look more stressed and even more tired than he had a few days ago. Jensen tried to be stealthy as he made his round of the diner topping up coffee for his customers, keeping an eye on Jared’s and Misha’s table as he went. As Jensen got closer, he was glad to finally see his new friend smiling and joking. What he could overhear of their conversation left him both intrigued and baffled. So much so, that he couldn’t resist any longer and he sidled up to their table.

Jared and Misha were both turned to the window and when Jensen peered out, he spotted Chad walking down the street. “Pass,” Jared said.

“Chad’s a very nice looking fellow,” Misha observed.

“Yes, but also very… quirky.”

“Okay, Mr. Diplomatic, number two is… right there.”

It was a teenager on his way to school. “Uh, no,” Jared said with a snort. “I have no desire to go to jail, thanks.”

“What are you two doing?” Jensen asked, remembering to warm up their coffee as he did so.

“Playing one, two, three he’s yours,” Jared answered, looking over his shoulder to give Jensen a blinding grin.

Jensen raised a brow. “ _Playing_?” 

“Yeah, we learned it from these two chicks in Connecticut,” Misha said. “It’s a dating game kind of thing. You get two passes, but then the third one is the guy – or in my case, girl – you’re going to date.”

“Of course,” Jensen said wryly.

“Oooh, Jensen came to the table, he’s your third, Jared.”

“I’m not playing,” Jensen said with a scowl.

“ _You_ don’t play, doofus,” Jared said with a laugh. “ _I’m_ playing. But you’re right, you don’t count.”

“Oh thanks.”

“Why doesn’t he count?” Misha asked with a quirk of his head.

“Because he’s in here and not outside. The rules are the guy has to walk by. Jensen’s just doing his job.”

“But he was _walking by_ the table,” Misha pointed out.

Jensen smirked but then saw a flash of movement outside. Rev. Tisdale was waiting to cross the street. “I think there’s your Mr. Perfect.”

Jared turned and gave an exaggerated sigh, his shoulders slumping. “Damn, already married.”

“Not to mention he could be your grandpa,” Jensen said.

“And there’s my first candidate,” Misha said with obvious interest. Jensen shifted his gaze to the young, petite blonde, a back pack slung over her left shoulder as she stopped at the corner to speak to Rev. Tisdale.

“I don’t believe it,” Jensen murmured, set the coffee pot down on the table and rushed out the door. He didn’t even look for traffic, just crossed the street, and wrapped Amy in his arms so tightly he lifted her feet off the ground. “What are you doing here?”

Amy didn’t speak, just held onto him. He could feel her trembling a little, thought she might be crying, but she wouldn’t let go. Something had gone very wrong in her life and of course he was going to try to help her put it back together. “It’s okay, you don’t have to say. We can talk later.”

“Just missed you,” she said into the crook of his neck.

He and Amy had been best friends since junior high, had even gone to the same college. She’d been there when he’d come out to his family, talked him down from so many freak outs he’d lost count, and had helped him pick up the pieces when his last relationship had fallen apart and he’d decided to move to Red Bluff. He hadn’t seen her in almost two years, but they’d kept in touch with email, texts and Skype. Having her here though was so much better.

“C’mon, let’s go inside and get you settled in a little.”

He caught Sam’s eye on the way to the back stairs that led up to his apartment. She’d met Amy when he was going through the process of buying the diner. She gave him a small nod and smile that let him know she had things covered. Although she and Jim could be quite the pair of meddlers, he knew they always had his back. 

His apartment was really only one big room, but it was more than enough for him. He hoped Amy was going to stay for a bit and was already planning on letting her have the bed and he’d sleep on the couch.

“It’s nicer than I remember,” she said softly, looking around the room.

Jensen snorted. It was functional and just what he’d needed at the time. He could probably move to a bigger place, money wasn’t a problem, but there wasn’t really any need for it since it was just him.

She sighed with relief as she sat down on the couch, swinging her backpack from her shoulder to sit between her feet.

“How long you staying?”

“I dunno,” she said, looking up at him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

“What’s happened?” he asked softly as he sat down beside her. His stomach clenched unpleasantly at the thought of her being hurt in some way.

“I uh…” Her voice shook, as did her hands when she took hold of his, squeezing them tight. “Things got a little crazy.”

“How crazy?”

“Brett asked me to marry him.”

Jensen had never met Brett. Amy had been dating him for over a year, and Jensen had chatted with him a couple of times on the phone when he called to talk with Amy. What he did know was that Amy had shared with him that she felt like Brett was different, that the love she felt for him was real. He wasn’t sure what it meant that she was here looking like it was the end of the world and he had to tamp down the feeling of wanting to kill Brett or at least hurt him a little bit.

“When’d this happen?”

“Last week.”

“Okay. And you turned him down for some reason?”

“No. I accepted.” A few tears finally spilled over and she wiped at her eyes a few times before she got herself under control. “Two days ago a woman showed up on my doorstep, said she’s pregnant and Brett’s the father. He admitted that he’d slept with her.”

“Oh, Aim,” he said, pulling her back into his arms. She sobbed now, uncontrollably, and his eyes pricked with unshed tears for her. The need to go hunt Brett down and beat the shit out of him grew to outrageous proportions, but Amy was here because she needed him and he’d do whatever he could to help her.

“I got your shirt all wet,” she said when she finally pulled away, swiping the last of her tears away.

“You know I’m not worried about that,” he admonished lightly.

“I know,” she said with a nod.

“You can stay as long as you like.”

“I know that, too,” she said with a wobbly smile. “Thanks.”

“Why don’t you take a nap? I’ll get out of your hair. You remember where everything is, right?”

She nodded and pressed a kiss onto his cheek. “Can you do me just one more favor?”

“Of course.”

“If Brett calls, will you tell him you haven’t seen me?”

“You got it,” he said easily. 

“Thanks,” she said again. “We’ll talk more later, I promise.”

He nodded before he headed back downstairs, ready to let work take his mind off the troubles of his best friend. He shouldn’t have been surprised when Danneel and Adrianne were sitting at the bar chatting with both Jim and Sam. He tried to bypass them and go directly to the kitchen, but of course Danneel wasn’t having that.

“Is she okay?” Danneel asked, her voice soft with concern.

“No,” he admitted.

“Can Addy and I go up and see her?”

Jensen shook his head.

“She’s our friend, too,” Danneel said, her voice taking on a harder edge.

“I know, but she needs some rest right now.” 

Jensen really wanted to tell the girls to go up and offer whatever comfort they could. To let them handle this because he had absolutely no idea what to do or say. Sure, Jensen had experienced heartache before, but never the betrayal that Amy must be feeling. But he couldn’t help being a little protective of her at the moment.

“Okay,” Adrianne said, placing her hand over top of Danneel’s. “We’ll wait.”

“Thanks,” Jensen said briskly before going into the kitchen to find something to do.

He went upstairs several times throughout the day, but Amy’d been sleeping – or pretending to – and he’d left her alone. She needed or wanted the time alone and he could give that to her. It was after six, the dinner crowd already pretty thinned out when he came back down from his latest check-in. Jared was sitting at a table doing something with his phone. Jensen didn’t think, just went over and plunked his ass down in the chair opposite Jared’s.

“Hey,” Jared said, looking up with a tentative smile. “You look exhausted.”

“Yeah,” Jensen sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. When he had his eyes focused again, he saw the stress back on Jared’s face. “You aren’t much better yourself.”

Jared held up his phone. “Chris just texted me. There’s a problem he needs to discuss. I was hoping we would’ve been a little further along before we had to have one of _those_ meetings.”

“Sounds ominous.”

“Yeah. Chris usually just calls if he needs to make a little adjustment. A _discussion_ sounds like a lot of money.”

Jensen could sympathize. The diner had been in pretty good shape when he’d bought it, but several things needed to be brought up to code and the stove had crapped out two months after he re-opened. 

“Don’t make it worse than it needs to be until you at least meet with Chris,” Jensen offered.

“Yeah, but saying that and doing it are two different things.”

“I feel ya, man,” Jensen said with a nod.

“What about you? Anything I can do to help?”

“Nah. Appreciate the offer, but _I_ don’t even know what to do yet.”

“Offer stands,” Jared said quietly before pushing his chair back from the table. “I better go round up Misha and head over to the inn.”

“Good luck,” Jensen said.

“Thanks,” Jared said with what looked more like a grimace than a smile. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”

Jensen watched him leave and continued to sit at the table for a few minutes before finally moving. He felt every one of his thirty-five years. He’d thrown himself into running the diner and had practically ignored everything else, including his friends and family. There was a time when Amy would’ve called him immediately with any life-changing news. He felt like a bad friend, son and brother. He ran from his heartache, cutting himself off from those who loved him in the process. Amy came to him now because she knew he would understand, and he did. But he felt the pang of loss of what other happy times he might have missed out on.

Jensen dug out his phone from his pocket and got an admonishing look from Sam. There was a ‘no cell phones’ sign hung prominently for all to see. It was a throwback from the previous owner and mostly Jensen just kept it up there to aggravate Chad and use it as an excuse to throw the kid out. He gave a sheepish shrug to Sam as he scrolled through his contacts to get to his parents’ number. Being the owner had its perks.

“Jensen,” his mom answered warmly. “How’re you doing, honey?”

“I’m good,” he replied, unable to keep the smile from his face. He loved his family and it always made him feel good to talk with them. “Hey, I was thinking, how would you like to set an extra place for Christmas this year?”

He didn’t get to talk much after that as his mom informed him just how thrilled she and the rest of the family would be to have him home in a few months for the upcoming holiday.

~o0o~

Jensen had just finished setting up the dining room when Amy came rushing down the stairs.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said, scurrying over to the counter to start the coffee.

“You won’t let me pay you so you’re allowed to sleep in, you know.” In the three weeks that Amy had been here, she’d helped out around the diner in the early mornings, then went over the bakery for a bit, but the place she’d really found herself at home was at Samantha’s Dance Studio. She was spending most of her time there and the two women got along like a house on fire. Jensen suspected that Ms. Samantha liked mothering Amy a little bit and Amy seemed to want that, so he was glad Amy had spent so many years in dance rehearsals and recitals and the like.

“I like helping out,” Amy said before popping her head into the kitchen to say good morning to Jim and Sam.

As Jensen flipped the sign over from ‘closed’ to ‘open’, he asked, “What’s on the agenda today?”

“Dance rehearsals start today for the Thanksgiving pageant.”

“I can’t wait to see what you and Ms. Samantha have come up with this year,” Danneel said coming in through the kitchen to set her delivery of baked goods down on the counter.

“You’re late,” Jensen said, giving Danneel a stern look.

She stuck her tongue out at him. “You don’t even have any customers yet.”

“It’s going to be a lovely production,” Amy said as she helped Danneel load up the pastries into the cake and pie savers. “I’m going to help sew the costumes.”

“You’re going to help _sew_?” Jensen asked in disbelief.

“Shut up,” she said, throwing a muffin crumb at him.

“No food fights unless I’m invited,” Chris said coming through the door.

“You’re here bright and early,” Jensen said, scowling at Chris.

“Jared wanted to get an early start,” Chris said, taking a seat on one of the stools.

“Jared?”

“Yeah, you know, the big goofy lookin’ guy. Hired me to fix up his inn.”

Jensen rolled his eyes. “Don’t be a dumbass.”

“You’re the one who said his name like you don’t know who he is,” Chris said, taking the mug of coffee that Amy poured for him like it was ambrosia. “Thanks darlin’.” Amy giggled a little as she propped her elbows onto the counter and leaned in close to Chris.

“He hasn’t been around in a while,” Jensen said with a shrug. “Just surprised is all.”

“That’s ‘cause he’s been up at the inn helping me out.”

“What? Doesn’t he have enough to do with start-up crap?”

Chris gave him a half shrug. “Trying to save money. Him and Collins have been working their butts off doing as much as they can so I don’t have to pay someone to do it for ‘em. If I hadn’t tasted some of the food Collins cooks, I’d say he missed his calling.”

“Yeah,” Danneel said with a happy sigh. “He’s multi-talented.”

“Whoa, wait a second,” Jensen said holding up his hand. “You and _Misha_?”

Danneel blushed prettily and smiled sheepishly. “I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but yeah.”

“But what about...” Jensen looked around and lowered his voice to a whisper. Thankfully no one else had come in yet. “What about Adrianne?”

“She knows.”

“She does?”

“Yeah. It’s not just me and Misha, you know.” Her voice was still hushed, but she was bold as brass as she said it. It was one of the things Jensen admired about her. She made no apologies for who she was.

“That dog,” Chris said with a chuckle.

“What? You, Adrianne _and_ Misha?” Jensen’s voice was a little loud and maybe a tad squeaky, but he didn’t think anyone could blame him.

Danneel’s smile faded and Amy sidled up beside her and threw her arm over Danneel’s shoulder. “I think it’s awesome.”

“You knew?” Jensen asked. This day was certainly starting out full of surprises.

“I suspected,” Amy said, tugging her friend closer. “Misha spends all his spare time at the bakery or over at Adrianne’s garage.”

“Well.” Jensen had been thrown a little, but Danneel and Adrianne had a strong relationship and if they wanted to bring a third into the mix, well, who was he to judge? “Awesome.”

Danneel’s smile was back and she bounced a little on her toes. 

“C’mon,” Amy said, grabbing up the bakery boxes. “I’ll help you unload the rest of the stuff so you can get back to your shop.”

Jensen watched as his two friends walked back to the kitchen, chatting happily. He was a live and let live kind of guy, but it still took him by surprise. He just hoped that no one got hurt. It was hard enough being in a relationship with one other person, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like with multiple partners.

“Any chance I can get some more coffee to go?” Chris asked, pulling Jensen out of his musings.

“Course,” Jensen said, stepping behind the counter. “How many you need?”

“Just one for me and another for Jared.”

“Okay, sure. You don’t want to take anything to eat?”

“Don’t have time,” Chris said with a tired sigh. “I over-slept and Jared’s probably already there waitin’ on me.”

“Ah,” Jensen said for lack of anything better. He had the coffee poured and added the right amount of sugar and cream to Jared’s before securing the lid. When he looked up, Chris was giving him a funny look. “What?”

“You know how the man takes his coffee?”

“I know your coffee order, too,” Jensen said defensively.

“Yeah, ‘cause black is so hard to remember,” Chris deadpanned, then smiled wide, pointing his finger at Jensen. “You like him!”

“Who?”

“Jared.”

“He’s a friend. And for weeks he was in here every morning, my first customer, waitin’ on a cup of coffee.”

“Uh huh.”

“What is it with everyone? Jared and I are just friends.”

“So everyone else thinks it, too!” Chris crowed triumphantly.

“What they think is Jared is sweet and cute and cuddly and would be perfect for me. Only he’s not.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t have time to date.”

“That’s not a good reason,” Chris countered, but deflated like a flat tire. “But I guess it’s the same song Jared’s singin’. Poor kid’s running himself ragged trying to do as much as he can with the remodeling and seeing to the business side.”

Which explained why Jensen hadn’t seen him in a while.

“You know what?” Chris said, standing up and digging his wallet out of his back pocket. “How ‘bout you bring up some lunch a little later. Burgers and fries?”

“Sure, be happy to. How many lunches you need?”

“Got a light crew today, so make it an even six. Bring it around eleven?”

“Will do,” Jensen said as Chris left enough money on the counter to pay for the coffee and lunch delivery.

Jensen couldn’t help but keep a careful eye on the clock the rest of the morning. He told himself it was because Chris had already pre-paid and he didn’t want to be late with the delivery. He helped Jim cook up the food and carefully packed up everything with Sam before heading out.

The inn was only about ten minutes from town. He’d been curious about the progress Chris had been making and what plans Jared and Misha had for the place. They were in a good area. Red Bluff was a nice little town that attracted folks from neighboring areas wanting to share in the small-town feel and participate in the celebrations held year round. There were museums and even an amusement park within easy driving distance of the inn as well.

When he pulled up, he didn’t see Jared at first, but he was kind of busy looking at how much work had been done. It looked fantastic. There was still some landscaping that obviously needed to be done, but the building looked fabulous. There was a wrap-around porch both on the main and second floors, the railings and posts painted crisp white. Two huge picture windows framed the front and a wide, welcoming double door that was ready to greet guests. 

“Hey!” Jared called and Jensen had to look up to see him.

“What are you doing up on the roof?” 

“Paintin’,” Jared said as if it should have been obvious. And it should’ve. He was holding a paintbrush and there were streaks of white on his arms and chest. His naked chest. Which was tan and muscular and, goddamn, the sight of it was making Jensen’s mouth water.

“The roof?” 

“No, doofus,” Jared said with a laugh and gestured behind him where Jensen now saw was what looked like a small, square lookout tower. “You don’t need glasses do you?”

He could see just fine, thank you very much. “Shut up!” was the only retort Jensen seemed to be able to produce. “See if I do you any favors ever again. Where is everyone else?”

“Inside hanging doors. What kind of favor?”

“Brought lunch,” Jensen said, hurrying over to the passenger side of his truck so he could get the box out.

“Which I paid for,” Chris said loudly, coming through the front door.

“Aww, that ain’t no favor then,” Jared said with exaggerated disappointment and then disappeared for a few moments before reappearing and climbing down a ladder at the side of the house.

Jensen was surrounded then by the crew of hungry construction workers and he was just fast enough to grab the burger he’d made for Jared before someone else nabbed it. Everyone had moved off by the time Jared made it over to him.

“You want the nickel tour?”

“Eat your food first,” Jensen said as he walked to the back of his truck and lowered the tailgate so they’d have a place to sit. “Where’s your sidekick?”

Jared snorted. “Misha?” At Jensen’s nod, he continued. “He’s out checking on buying some horses.”

“Horses? Really?”

“Yeah,” Jared said as he unwrapped his burger, canting his head to the right. “We’ve got a nice little stable and we thought horseback riding would be nice to offer our guests.”

“And Misha knows about buying horses?” Jensen asked skeptically.

“No, but Adrianne does so she offered to help out.”

“Ah. Adrianne.” Jensen looked down at his shoes. 

“You got a problem with Addy?” Jared didn’t sound mad, just curious.

“No. Just, uh.” He rubbed the back of his neck. Odds were Jared already knew about Misha dating both Danneel and Adrianne, but how the heck did you talk about something like that?

Jared grinned and knocked his shoulder into Jensen’s. “You found out about Misha and the girls.”

“Yeah. And it’s cool. I mean, I don’t care, but seems like a lot to handle.”

“Yep,” Jared agreed before taking a big bite of his burger and moaning like a porn star. “Oh man, this is fantastic. Do you know how often I’ve been eating mac and cheese lately?”

“Jared …” he began quietly. He didn’t want over-step, but if Jared was hurting for money already, before they even opened, he was afraid what might happen in the future.

Jared stared and must have caught Jensen’s concern because he immediately shook his head. “No, no, nothing like that,” he assured stuffing a handful of fries into his mouth before continuing. “Mac and cheese is easy to make.”

“You know there’s this place in town called a diner that serves meals daily, right?”

Jared nodded and smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, but by the time I get home I’m sweaty and tired and sometimes kinda grumpy. Not really fit company.”

Jensen held up the bag that was sitting between them and shook it. “Uh, hello, take out.”

Jared huffed out a small laugh and gave him a half shrug and this time, he was the one looking at his shoes. Jensen let it drop. He didn’t want to embarrass Jared, and if for some reason he didn’t want to come to the diner any more, well, that was his right. But now at least Jared seemed to want to be around Jensen, so that was more than good enough.

[](http://s417.photobucket.com/user/tmn1966/media/bbscene1_zps90ccb3af.jpg.html)

It didn’t take Jared long to polish off the rest of the burger and fries and when he started sucking on the straw to take a drink, Jensen decided it was time to move. “So how ‘bout that tour?”

“Oh sure,” Jared said, hopping off the tailgate. 

The Good Night Inn was just as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside. The reception area was small but bright and with Jared’s descriptions of the décor he was planning, it sounded like it was going to be cozy. The woodwork was lovely, stained a beautiful dark cherry with crown molding. A grand, sweeping staircase led up to the top floor. 

Jared then took him through the sitting room which led into the dining room and then into the kitchen. It was a far cry from the kitchen at the diner, the appliances new and shiny and big. Of course the inn was more upscale, but Jensen couldn’t help but run his hand reverently over the stainless steel appliances.

“Yeah, Misha really loves that stove, too,” Jared said with a grin.

“Man has his priorities, I see, since this is the only room that’s furnished.”

Jared laughed as he continued the tour, guiding them up a back staircase. “Everything else is coming this week. We’re going to have our trial run this weekend.”

“That soon?”

“Our investors are getting antsy to see the place.”

“Investors?”

“Otherwise known as our families. They wanted to help out and a little extra start-up money couldn’t be turned down. We hope to have them paid back within a few years.”

Jared chatted about the rooms, which were all very large and sounded like they would be very luxurious once the furnishings were all in place. They all offered fantastic views, especially the rear ones, where you could see a big pond in the distance.

“You and Amy should come,” Jared said as he took them outside to a small private cottage that would be available as a honeymoon suite. 

“Come where?”

“To the trial run. You could have the cottage,” Jared said as he opened the door. It was cozy with a small sitting room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.

“You want to put both of us here?” Not that Jensen would necessarily mind. He and Amy shared his bed now, and had at different times throughout the years, but it had been and always would be platonic. If he was going to spend the night somewhere, he sure would love to have a bed to himself.

“Well. Yeah. Don’t you want to share a room with her? Like you do now?”

“Cause it’s _one_ room,” Jensen said with a chuckle. “All her stuff has taken over my place, man. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love having her here, but all her clothes and makeup and jeez, you should see all the things she has in my shower. I didn’t even know there was that much stuff you could even use while showering.”

“Okay,” Jared said slowly, giving him a strange look.

It couldn’t be Jared thought he and Amy were a couple could it? 

“Jared. Do you think there’s something between me and Amy besides friendship?”

“Um ...”

“She’s like a sister to me. Plus, she’s a woman.”

“Right.” Jared still looked a little confused.

“I’m gay, Jared. I thought you knew that.”

“Um, well, I thought maybe. But then she came to town and you two seemed really close. She was living in your one room apartment!” Jared said defensively. “And with the whole Misha, Danneel and Adrianne thing, well, people can be bi, you know.”

Jensen laughed and patted Jared’s shoulder. “I know. But I’m not.”

“Neither am I. I mean, I’m gay. Not straight. Or bi.” Jared blushed so prettily, and he still wasn’t wearing a shirt, which made it all the more difficult for Jensen to resist the urge to pull him into a kiss. “Sorry, I tend to babble.”

“’S okay,” Jensen said softly.

Jared took a deep, cleansing breath. “Well okay then, you both can have your own rooms. Danneel and Adrianne already wanted to claim the cottage as theirs anyway.”

“Are you sure you want me to come? Since it’s your family and all.”

“We want a full house to try and get all the kinks worked out. I’d really like it if you and Amy would join us.”

“I can probably swing Friday night, but I’ll have to be at the diner for the Saturday lunch crowd.”

“That’d be awesome,” Jared said, his smile showing off his dimples.

“Speaking of the diner, I better get back to it.”

“Of course,” Jared said, walking him back to his truck. “See you Friday night, any time after four.”

“Okay, see you then.”

Jensen’s smile didn’t fade until he was halfway back to town. Man, he was so screwed. How was he supposed to convince everyone else that he didn’t have time to date Jared when he’d just spent the last ten minutes trying to figure out ways to make it work?


	3. Chapter 3

[](http://s417.photobucket.com/user/tmn1966/media/chapter3_zpsa81b2dd3.jpg.html)

Jared was sitting in one of the over-sized rockers on the second floor deck, his feet kicked up on the railing, sipping at the still steaming coffee from the Styrofoam cup emblazoned with the familiar Luke’s Diner logo. He’d picked it up before he headed up to the inn. The diner wasn’t officially open, but he was glad Jensen still let him come in when he’d shown up on the door step. 

Right now he was enjoying the serene morning, the last one he’d probably experience for a while. The staff was due in soon and there were a shitload of last minute details to attend to before the guests started to arrive.

“Chris’ll kick your ass if you ruin his paint job with those clown feet of yours,” Misha said easing into the rocker beside Jared’s.

“I think I know how to touch up paint,” Jared said sardonically.

“You do,” Misha agreed easily. “Stopped off at the diner on your way up?”

“Yep.”

“The self-exile over then?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” It was one of the things he’d learned from his brother. Deny, deny, deny. 

“If you would’ve listened to me, then –”

“Mish.”

“Yeah?”

“Stay out of it.”

“You like him, he likes you, what’s the harm in at least asking him out on a date.”

“Because Danneel and Adrianne say I should?” It came out a bit pricklier than Jared had intended, but frankly he didn’t want to have to deal with this particular issue today.

“No.”

Jared rolled his head to get a look at his friend. “You saying the three of you haven’t been scheming on a way to get me and Jensen together.”

“We haven’t.”

Jared gave him a skeptical look and Misha rolled his eyes before he recanted. “Okay, yes. A little bit. Honestly, though, a blind person can see he’s into you as much as you are him.”

“Things are complicated.”

“Seriously? You’re going there?” Misha asked, his agitation apparent.

Jared pulled his legs down from the railing and sat up a little. “What?”

“I’m dating two women who are in a committed relationship together. My parents are going to meet them for the first time this weekend and I’m not sure how to introduce them. I don’t think they’re going to be thrilled to know their son is entering into a polyamorous relationship.”

Jared was a little ashamed he hadn’t even thought about what his friend may be going through. Misha was always doing off the wall things, delving into the strange and unusual. It seemed normal of sorts for him to get two women to fall for him and all three of them be in a relationship.

“So y’all are serious?”

“It’s headed that way. It’s… I want to say it’s strange, how I feel about both of them, but it’s not. Not to me at least. Danneel meets me toe to toe and Adrianne kind of balances out both of us. It’s complicated, but since when has that scared me off?”

Jared snorted. “Complicated is your addiction.”

“Yeah, I suppose it is,” Misha agreed with a chuckle.

“I’m happy for you, man.”

“Thanks,” Misha said with a grateful smile. “It’s exhilarating and scary as shit at the same time.”

“Whatever you decide to tell your family, I’ve got your back.”

“I appreciate that.”

They spent a few quiet minutes in compatible silence until Chris’ vehicle pulled into the parking lot. He wanted to do a quick final inspection before they opened, but Jared didn’t think they’d find anything amiss. Chris was very good at his job and had wanted to go the extra step of staying the weekend, ready to fix whatever problems would crop up throughout the test run.

“Ready or not,” Misha said as he stood.

Jared followed him silently. He was nervous – there was a lot riding on this venture – but he couldn’t contain his excitement either. After years of planning and saving, they were finally going to see the fruition of all their hard work. 

Thankfully, Jared was kept occupied by last minute details to be too fidgety, but when the first of the guests arrived, who also happened to be his parents, the nerves set in again. After a round of hugs that included Misha, his best friend excused himself to go to work in the kitchen to begin preparing the evening meal.

“How was the drive?” Jared asked as he helped his dad pull their suitcases out of the back of the SUV. His parents had opted to make the six hour drive instead of flying in to the small airport that was a few miles away.

“Fine,” his mom answered with a smile as she looked around the property. “Jared, honey, it’s beautiful. You and Misha have done a wonderful job.”

“Thanks,” Jared said, beyond pleased with his mom’s initial impression of their inn.

“You got the stables finished?” his dad asked as he set a suitcase down and looked off into the distance.

Jared chuckled. His dad’s love of horses was one of the reasons he had wanted to make sure they could offer riding to their guests. “Sure did.”

His dad started to walk toward the stables but his mom grabbed hold of his arm. “Gerald Padalecki, you are _not_ gonna piffle off before our son has even had a chance to show us around.”

“Yes, dear,” his dad said, giving Jared a wink. “Okay, son, _show us around_.”

Jared loved his parent’s relationship. They raised three kids, had their share of ups and downs, and worked hard to keep their marriage strong. He hoped one day he could have as long lasting and strong relationship. If he was lucky enough to have kids, he wanted to be as good a parent. When Jared came out to them his senior year in high school, it hadn’t even been a big deal. He was their son and they loved him. Period. There weren’t any conditions put on it, although his mom was anxious to see him settle down with a ‘nice young man.’ He doubted he’d make it through the weekend without her sussing out his attraction to Jensen.

The rest of the afternoon was spent showing his and Misha’s family around, then relaxing a little over a mid-afternoon snack in the dining room. Although Jared and Misha had met each other’s families, their parents had never met each other as they lived on opposite sides of the county. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise they bonded quickly and began to share stories of their sons’ younger years.

Jared was relaxed, comfortably sprawled out in the chair, laughing over a story about Misha’s first attempt to strike out on his own at the age of five.

“Hard at work, I see,” Danneel said wryly from the doorway.

Jared’s retort died on his lips when he looked over to see Jensen standing beside Danneel. He was so used to seeing Jensen wearing his baseball cap, on backwards of course, an apron tied around his waist, a pair of sturdy work boots on his feet and at least a few days since his face had met with a razor. Today he was clean shaven, wearing a pair of tight jeans, a blue button down shirt, and a pair of black converse. 

Thankfully Misha had popped up and started making introductions and Jared was slightly embarrassed that he hadn’t even noticed Adrianne and Amy were there, too. It was chaos for a few minutes before their parents told them to go off and do their jobs. Misha went back into the kitchen and although Jared wanted to dawdle a little when he showed Jensen and Amy to their rooms, he couldn’t as more guests were arriving, a few more townsfolk he and Misha had invited. Jared normally wouldn’t greet each and every guest personally, but this was different. He wanted their family and friends to feel welcome and know they were here to fully enjoy everything the Good Night Inn had to offer.

[](http://s417.photobucket.com/user/tmn1966/media/bbscene2_zps8335b77f.jpg.html)

It wasn’t until late in the evening after almost everyone had gone to bed that he finally got to talk with Jensen. In fact, it was Jensen who found him sitting on the porch steps enjoying a beer.

“Drinking on the job? Better not let your boss find out,” Jensen said as he sat down beside Jared.

Jared huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, I’ll get fired for sure. He’s a real hard ass.”

“Nah, I heard he’s a big softie.”

Jared grinned, glad Jensen was sitting closer than necessary. “More like a giant goofball, huh?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Jensen said quietly. “You should be proud, Jared. You and Misha have done a superb job.”

“Thanks,” he said, setting the bottle down on the porch, feeling bad he didn’t have one to offer Jensen.

“Though I do have to question your mental stability on hiring Chad as your stable boy.”

Jared full out laughed. “Better not let him hear you call him that. He prefers head equestrian in charge of anything and everything related to the stables.”

It was Jensen’s turn to snort. “Leave it to Chad to have a title longer than he’ll probably last at the job.”

“I don’t know, man. He’s like the horse whisperer or something. He was here the day the horses were delivered and they were acting up, causing a real fuss at being in the trailers and he went over, calmed ‘em right down. He wants me to build him an apartment over the stables so he can live there.”

“Don’t do it,” Jensen warned. “You’ll never get rid of him.”

“Chad’s all right,” Jared said with a shrug. “He treats the horses well and they seem to love him. There’s one, Sundancer, she follows him around like a puppy.”

“Figures. Guy doesn’t know how to act around people, takes a horse to figure him out.”

Jared chuckled again. “I know he doesn’t have a great work history, but I think this one might stick.”

Jensen pursed his lips and nodded. “Maybe so.”

They were silent for a few moments, but it was nice, sitting on the porch in the cool night air with Jensen. Maybe everyone was right and they should just go for it. If anyone would understand how busy Jared would be with his own business, it would be Jensen. And being with Jensen felt good. Really good.

As much as Jared enjoyed the quiet with Jensen, he liked talking with the man even more and he turned his body so that he faced Jensen. “Did it feel weird getting waited on for a change instead of serving the meal?”

“Of course not,” Jensen said, sounding affronted. “I go out.”

“Uh huh.”

“I’ll take you to my favorite restaurant sometime.”

“Yeah? Where’s that? Luke’s?”

“No, smartass. Nice little Italian joint over in La Port. Best lasagna you’ve ever had.” Jensen’s eyes were closed and his face the picture of ecstasy and it short circuited Jared’s brain for a second.

“You asking me out?” He hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that, but what the hell. If Jensen really wasn’t interested, now was as good a time as any to find out.

Jensen swallowed and opened one eye, then the other, looking at Jared cautiously. “Maybe.”

“Then, in case you are, I accept,” Jared said softly.

“Good,” Jensen said with a small grin. 

They were moving steadily toward each other by that time and then they were kissing. Nothing desperate, though Jared was kind of feeling that way. It was soft and sweet and as Jensen’s tongue brushed over Jared’s lips, he opened up willingly for him. He could taste the wine from dinner as their tongues twisted lazily together, and he gave a small hum of satisfaction when he felt Jensen’s hand cupping his neck, his thumb gently stroking Jared’s jawline.

When Jared found himself wanting more, he broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against Jensen’s. “I’d like to keep going with this, but…”

Jensen fetched a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah. Not the best timing.”

“But we’ll find a better time,” Jared said moving back a little so he could look into Jensen’s eyes.

Jensen hesitated a moment before responding. “We will,” he said quietly, moving in for another kiss.

~o0o~

The weekend was a success but there were a few problems to work out with both the building and the staff. The first paying guests would be arriving on Friday, so that should give them plenty of time to get things smoothed out.

In the meantime, Jared went back to his daily ritual of going to the diner for breakfast. On Wednesday, Amy was the one who met him at the door and let him in just prior to opening.

“Hi there, handsome,” she said with a warm smile.

“Hey,” Jared said, returning the smile but scanning the restaurant.

“He’s in the kitchen. Jim’s not feeling well so Jensen’s chef for the day,” she said as she led the way over to the counter. “Take a seat, coffee just finished brewing.”

Jared hesitated for a moment, wanting to head for the kitchen, but Amy cocked her head and gave him a look that dared him to argue with her. So Jared sat.

When Amy slid a full, steaming mug in front of him Jared looked at it a moment, then up at Amy.

“It’s okay, I swear,” she said, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “I made it just the way Jensen does.”

“Of course,” Jared said, adding the usual amount of sugar and cream before taking a tentative sip due to the heat. It burned his tongue a little, but he felt awkward with her staring at him.

“I hear Jensen asked you out.”

“Yes,” he answered, setting the mug carefully back on the counter. “Is this the best friend ‘you hurt him I kill you’ speech?”

“No,” she said simply.

Jared’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Really?”

She chuckled and gave him a wry grin. “I know, surprising right? It’s just that Jensen… well, he needs a little push now and again and it’s been a while since he’s been on a date. The diner has been a salvation to him of sorts, but now it’s past time for him to get back out there. I like you, but more importantly, Jensen likes you. I’m excited for him.”

Jared took another sip of coffee. He gave her a little grin as he said, “I’m excited for him, too.”

Amy’s burst of laughter caused Jensen to pop his head around the corner and give them a scowl. “What’re you two up to out here?”

“Just drinking coffee,” Jared said, holding up his mug.

Amy practically pranced over to Jensen and gave him a big smacking kiss on his cheek. Jensen frowned even deeper, asking, “What the hell was that for?”

“’Cause you picked an awesome boyfriend.”

The two men blinked at each other but before either of them could form any kind of words in retort, Amy was already headed out the back door with a “See y’all later!”

Jensen cleared his throat. “Uh… she’s… You know what, I’m just gonna go back in the kitchen.”

Jared smiled into his mug. Jensen was quite adorable when he was flustered. He gave him a few minutes before following him. “I was thinking about next week. How ‘bout Tuesday?”

“Yeah?” Jensen said as he chopped some vegetables before throwing them into a stock pot. “What about it?”

“For our date.”

Jensen paused a moment, his hands full of bell pepper, before finally letting them plop into the pot. “Tuesday?”

“I figure that’s the best day for both of us. The grand opening weekend for the inn will be over and Tuesdays are pretty slow for you, right?”

“Kinda,” Jensen said with a small shrug. “Sometimes we’re busy.”

“But sometimes not.” Jared suggested softly. “How does dinner at your little Italian place followed by a movie sound?”

“Okay. Good. I mean fine.” Jensen huffed out an exasperated sigh. “Long as the movie’s not some romcom.”

“No chick flicks, got it.”

“All right, then. Now get outta my kitchen. I got work to do.”

Jared couldn’t resist and moved in for a kiss, had intended it to be a quick one, but as soon as he got his fingers on Jensen’s face to tilt it at just the right angle and got his mouth on Jensen’s, he didn’t want to stop. It took someone clearing their throat to break them apart, actually springing away from each other. 

“Not that I particularly wanted you boys to stop,” Sam said with a grin, “but if you don’t mind whatever’s on the stove, it’s gonna burn.”

“Shit,” Jensen swore under his breath and began to rush around the kitchen, adding water and other ingredients into the pot.

“I better get going,” Jared said, backing out of Jensen’s way.

“No time for breakfast?” Sam asked.

“Morning staff meeting. Wouldn’t do for the boss to be late.”

“Then you should come back for dinner,” Jensen said, glancing at him.

Sam went over to the stove and looked into the pot. “You should. Jensen’s making his stuffed pepper soup. It’s real good,” she promised.

“Count me in,” Jared said, patting his belly as he headed for the exit. “Tell Jim I hope he feels better.”

“I’ll do that, thanks, hon,” Sam called out just before the door closed behind him.

Jared felt a little bit giddy. He couldn’t believe he and Jensen were actually going to go out on a date. Now he just had to hope his patience would hold out for a week.

~o0o~

The following Monday Jared was definitely on a high. They hadn’t completely sold out for the grand opening, but it was a near thing. There were a few little glitches, but everything had smoothed out easily. They even got some good suggestions from a few of the guests for improvements. Plus there was the bonus feature of tomorrow being his date with Jensen.

It was why he was whistling as he made his way to Luke’s. It was early, but not ungodly so and he was pleased to see people out and about. The past two weeks had been early mornings and late nights where he hadn’t run into hardly any townsfolk. This morning he was able to stop and chat with Ms. Samantha and also Rev. Tisdale on his way.

The diner was already bustling with people grabbing some breakfast before work or school. Jared took his usual place at the counter, watching as Jensen made his way between the tables, taking orders and filling coffee cups. Jared didn’t mind waiting and in fact he used the time to admire Jensen. It was fast becoming a favorite pastime of his.

When Jensen was finally able to get behind the counter, he looked more than a little stressed. “Need it to go?” he asked, still holding the coffee pot while his hand hovered over the Styrofoam cups stacked by the coffee maker.

“Uh, no,” Jared said, a little taken aback. Even if he had to go into work early, he still always made time for breakfast at the diner.

“Oh. Right.” Jensen grabbed a mug instead, plunking it in front of Jared and pouring the coffee, some of the hot liquid sloshing over the sides. Jensen huffed out an exasperated grunt along with a mumbled, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Jared said with a smile as he mopped up the mess with a napkin. “I’m not in a rush. You can come back for my order when you have a minute.”

“I’ll just take it now,” Jensen said, pulling the order pad from his apron pocket. He wasn’t making eye contact with Jared.

“Hey, you okay?” Jared asked softly.

Jensen closed his eyes briefly, and after swallowing hard, finally looked at Jared. “Yeah, I wanted to talk to you actually.”

Jared felt his stomach drop. “Okay.”

“I just don’t think I’ll have time to go out tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not you or anything. Just.”

Apprehension was battling with disappointment for dominance and Jared couldn’t help but blurt out his anxiety. “Did you change your mind about tomorrow or the whole thing in general?”

“It’s really busy around here and you’re swamped with the inn.”

That was hardly a direct answer but Jared knew a dismissal when he heard one. Jared wasn’t at all swamped, not like he had been, and the diner wasn’t any busier than it was on any other given day. 

Jensen rubbed his cloth along the counter again, although there was nothing left to mop up. He was agitated, his hands were even shaking a little. Jared didn’t know Jensen well enough to know what it all meant. But if Jensen didn’t want for them to get together, then that’s the way it was, Jared wouldn’t push. And he certainly didn’t want Jensen to be upset over it. 

“Yeah,” Jared said, plastering what he hoped was a genuine smile on his face. “You’re right.”

“I am?” Jensen asked in surprise, then cleared his throat. “I mean, yeah. Timing’s not good what with both of us so busy an’ all.”

Jared nodded then indicated his coffee. “You know, I think I better take this to go.”

“Oh.”

“Got some paperwork to catch up from the weekend. Be good to get a head start.”

“Jared,” Jensen said, voice soft and questioning. 

He waited for a beat, but Jensen didn’t continue and Jared wasn’t exactly sure what had just happened. Frankly, Jared was too much of a straight shooter to be good at dealing with mixed signals. Was Jensen just postponing the date or nixing the whole idea of dating Jared altogether? Jensen looked apprehensive and Jared’s innate compassion resurfaced.

“It’s okay, Jensen,” he said quietly.

“Yeah?”

Jared nodded, unsure what else to say. As soon as Jensen had poured his drink in a to-go cup, he stood, dug some money out of his pocket and placed it onto the counter. “See you later.”

“Yep,” Jensen answered, already on his way to the kitchen.

Jared let himself look at the doorway to the kitchen for a moment before heading out the door. His brain was busy trying to sort things out and he really wasn’t paying attention as he walked through town and down the road to the inn. He really liked Jensen and was disappointed as hell they weren’t going out. 

Everyone had been so sure Jensen was as attracted to Jared as he was to Jensen. Amy mentioned something about Jensen being out of the dating game for a while. Truth was, Jared hadn’t dated anyone in a while himself. But for Jared it hadn’t been so much a choice as a necessity due to constraints on his time. Maybe for Jensen it _had_ been a choice.

When he heard a car horn beeping at him, he moved over into the grass, still no further into solving the equation of Jensen’s actions. 

“Jared!” he heard Misha shout from behind him. 

Jared turned with a frown. He hadn’t even realized he was already halfway to the inn. It had just felt better to be walking. “Yeah?”

“What’re you doing?”

Jared stared at his friend a beat or two before shrugging.

“C’mon and get in the car.”

He did as Misha asked, getting into the passenger seat and closing the door without comment.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Why are you walking?”

“I’m not now.”

Misha heaved out a sigh of frustration. “Something happened with Jensen.”

“Nothing happened with Jensen.” And that was the sad, sorry truth of the whole matter. He just had to get over it.

“Jared.”

“Just drive, Mish.”

Misha hesitated a moment before putting the car in drive. It wasn’t until they pulled into the employee parking lot that Misha finally broke the silence. “Jare, last night you were practically singing Disney show tunes and fretting over which jeans make your ass look best and now you look like someone ran over your new puppy. What happened?”

“He cancelled the date,” Jared blurted. 

Misha looked shocked and started to stay something but Jared cut him off before he could even get started. “Just let me be bummed about it, okay?”

“But…”

“He doesn’t want to go out with me, Misha. Y’all were just wrong. So let it go. Okay?”

Misha looked like he wanted to argue but then gave up with a wave of his hand. Jared threw his untouched cup of coffee in the trash as soon as he passed one of the receptacles on the way into the building.

It took a little while before he got into the groove of work, but then he shoved Jensen and the date that wasn’t to the back of his mind. He couldn’t say he was his normal jovial self, but it wasn’t the end of the world.

~o0o~

Jared avoided the diner for the better part of two weeks and had only run into Jensen once. They were at the grocery store, Jared with a basket full of mac & cheese and frozen dinners, Jensen holding a head of lettuce. They had an awkward conversation about being busy and a round of asking how things were going.

Jared was still disappointed Jensen had cancelled on him and obviously didn’t want to reschedule. He had Jared’s phone number, knew where he worked and lived. If Jensen wanted to do something there had been plenty of opportunity. Jared had missed seeing Jensen every day, and although he respected the man’s decision, he didn’t understand it. 

Everyone in their inner circle had tried to persuade him to ask Jensen out, to give him another chance. Jared, in turn, told each one of them that he and Jensen were better off as friends, obviously that’s the way Jensen wanted it. Chad was the only who thought Jared was smart for staying away from Jensen, but Jared didn’t take it to heart. Chad was still miffed for being tossed out of Luke’s a couple of weeks ago for using his cell phone.

Jared was in his office going over his to do list at the end of the day, checking off items he’d taken care of and prioritizing what remained and adding to it for tomorrow, when Misha came in and sat down in one of the chairs in front of Jared’s desk.

“So, the girls and I want you to come over for dinner tomorrow night.”

Jared flicked a glance up and then back down to his paperwork. “Your place or theirs?”

“Theirs. Danni tried out a new muffin recipe and wants you to be the guinea pig.”

Jared chuckled, put his pen down and leaned back in his chair. “Who did it before I showed up?” 

“Addy, of course,” Misha said with a grin. “But you’re like Danni’s number one taste tester or something. She says all she has to do is watch your face and listen to your ‘eating noises’ to see if it’s a winner or not.”

“What can I say, I enjoy food.”

“That’s a fact I’m not about to dispute.”

“This isn’t a trick by any chance is it?”

“Trick?” Misha asked with a frown and tilt of his head.

“You’re not inviting Jensen over, too?”

“Nope.”

Jared knew his friend well, which prompted him to ask with undisguised suspicion, “And Danni and Addy didn’t either, right?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Mish…”

Misha held up his hands. “Look, we all think you two would make a great couple. Just as we know Jensen, for whatever asinine reason, decided to break your heart –”

“He did not break my heart,” Jared interjected.

“Decided to bruise your heart,” Misha amended.

“Still not right.”

Misha just shrugged. “Whatever he did, it’s bummed you out. And you’re avoiding the diner _and_ Jensen just like you did when you thought there was something going on between him and Amy.”

Jared couldn’t deny it and chose to stay silent, earning him a self-satisfied smirk from Misha.

“So yes, we’ve bugged the shit out of you to ask Jensen out. We’re over that now.”

“Uh huh,” Jared said, still skeptical.

“I just want to point one thing out.”

Jared crossed his arms over his chest. “Of course you do.”

“You said you wanted to be friends with Jensen and if he didn’t go anywhere near your heart with the canceling of the date, then why are you avoiding him?”

“I’m not ...” What kind of answer to that was there except denial?

“You’re sad, Jared. Not morose or ‘I’m about to jump off the roof’ kind of sad, but I see it. I’ve known you long enough to know that it _is_ hurting you. I haven’t a clue why Jensen decided not to go out with you, but I will tell you this, he’s not in the best shape either.”

Jared stiffened. “I don’t want to hear gossip about him.”

“It’s not gossip,” Misha said quietly. “I’ve seen it for myself. I went to the diner for breakfast this morning. He must’ve topped off my coffee about twenty times, making idle chit chat. Finally, when I was just finishing my meal, he asked how you were, told me to tell you he was making stuffed pepper soup today.” Misha paused and took a deep breath. “I’m not saying he changed his mind about the date, but it’s obvious he’s thinking about you. Misses having you around. I think you and I should stop by there tonight, even if it’s to pick up a quart of soup to go.”

Jared drummed his fingers on his desk for a few moments. “Okay.”

“Okay? Really?”

“The only way to get over the awkwardness is to face it. So, yeah, I’ll go.”

“Huh.” Misha looked uncharacteristically nonplused.

“Went easier than you thought?” Jared couldn’t hide his grin. It wasn’t every day he got one over on his friend.

“I did anticipate more of a fight.”

“Had more arguments all worked out, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did,” Misha said, standing. “You’re usually far too stubborn for your own good.”

“So we’re leaving now?”

“I’m hungry which means you must be starving.”

Jared made a scoffing noise, but it was all show. He could definitely go for some food.


	4. Chapter 4

[](http://s417.photobucket.com/user/tmn1966/media/chapter4_zpsa61938ba.jpg.html)

Jensen was just clearing a table when Jared and Misha walked into the diner and sat down at a table in the corner. A hush came over the room, or maybe Jensen was just imaging it, but still he held his breath until Jared gave him a tentative smile followed up with a small wave. 

“Be right with you guys,” Jensen said with a nod and hurried back to the kitchen, his hands loaded down with dirty dishes. He carefully dumped them off and braced his hands on the counter, letting his chin drop to his chest.

“You okay?” Jim asked.

“Jared just came in.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” 

Jensen had told Misha this morning about making Jared’s favorite soup in hopes that Jared would actually stop by. He hadn’t really thought it would work. Jared had been avoiding him, not that Jensen blamed him, but still he craved the guy’s company. He’d been stupid to cancel the date, let his apprehensions and fears get the better of him, which only intensified when he realized how he’d disappointed Jared and added guilt into the mix.

“You want me to get their order?” Sam asked as she waited for Jim to plate up a burger and fries for a patron.

Jensen stood tall and shook his head. “No.”

Sam and Jim exchanged a look and Sam wandered off without her order.

“Son, you don’t have to be anyone else for him. He’s always liked you,” Jim said.

“I know that.”

“Seems like being friends came natural to you two. Just… don’t get all tangled up in that head of yours.”

“Right,” Jensen said with more conviction than he felt. Steeling himself, he went out into the dining room, grabbing his order pad from his pocket and sliding the pencil from its place behind his ear. It was just to keep his hands busy. They were obviously here for the soup.

“Good to see you,” Jensen said. He meant to say it to both of them, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Jared, looking for any signs as to how the man was feeling.

“Yeah, you too,” Jared said, his smile still tentative but at least it was there.

“Made stuffed pepper soup today,” Jensen said and barely kept from tacking on ‘I know how much you like it.’

“So I heard.”

Jensen flicked a glance at Misha, who looked a tad uncomfortable. He really couldn’t blame the man as Jensen had put him in that position. Misha had probably had more coffee than any person should in one day while Jensen had worked up the courage to tell him about the impromptu decision to make one of Jared’s favorite meals.

“Would you like a bowl?”

“Naturally,” Jared said, his tone teasing and Jensen couldn’t help but feel a little lighter at the sound. Normally he would’ve had some smartass retort to give, but today it was just a grin.

“Make it two,” Misha said.

“Sure thing, it’ll be right up,” Jensen said.

By the time he made it back to the table, Danneel and Adrianne had joined the guys. 

“You better still have some left,” Danneel said with an arched brow as he set the bowls down.

“And if I don’t?” Jensen challenged, matching her eyebrow for eyebrow.

“Then you’re just gonna have to make some more,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I don’t think so. It’s the end of the day. You shoulda come in for lunch.”

“Uh, I have my own business to run, if you’ll recall.”

“What? You never eat lunch? I have delivery service, if _you’ll_ recall.”

“All right _children_ ,” Sam said from behind him. “I’ve got soup for everyone. Including you,” she added with a glare at Jensen. “Sit your ass down and take a break. Nothing Jim and I can’t handle it for a bit.”

Jensen immediately looked over at Jared, who gave a small indication with the tilt of his head that Jensen should join them.

“Okay, just for a few minutes,” Jensen said, sitting across from Jared.

It was a little awkward at first, but Misha started a conversation about honey being one of the only foods that won’t ever spoil if stored correctly. Which led to everyone at the table trying to come up with a weird fact and before Jensen knew it he’d spent an hour and a half with his friends. He and Jared were at a better place now, maybe not back to where they were before, but at least the knot in Jensen’s stomach that had been two weeks in the making had finally started to uncoil a little bit.

When he finally trudged upstairs after closing up, Jensen was bone tired. Amy was curled up on the couch watching something on TV and Jensen flopped down beside her.

She waited until the commercials hit before saying, “So, I think I’ve shown great restraint.”

“Is that just in general or you talkin’ ‘bout something specific?”

“Tell me how it went with Jared.” She turned, rearranging herself so she now faced Jensen.

“Whaddya mean?”

She smacked him on the arm. “Don’t play dumb. Danni texted me, said you guys all had dinner together.”

“I guess it’s a miracle you didn’t come running over from dance practice to join in.” That one earned him a punch. “Ow,” he complained, rubbing his bicep.

“She said you two seemed to be okay.”

Jensen closed his eyes and let his body melt a little more into the cushions. “I guess.”

“C’mon, Jen, don’t play that game,” she said with quiet concern. “You’ve been like a bear with a thorn in his paw for two weeks now. I’ve left you alone, but now… just talk to me.”

He blew out a breath slowly, opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her. “It was all too fast. And I feel… different about him than I have anyone else. What happens if it gets screwed up and we’re not even friends anymore?”

“And what if it didn’t?”

“You mean we live happily ever after?” he asked, unable to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

“Everything’s not gonna be sunshine and lollipops, it’s how you _both_ handle those times that matter. Are you afraid to work at it, or afraid he won’t want to?”

“History shows I ain’t so good at it.” 

Jensen’s last relationship ended when his boyfriend, Ethan, told him he thought they needed some space, packed a bag and left their apartment. Jensen let him go and changed the locks a month later when there hadn’t been any communication whatsoever. They had an ugly confrontation when Ethan came back to get the rest of his things, Ethan accusing Jensen of never loving him enough or even really wanting them to work out long term. That hadn’t been true, but Ethan didn’t believe him. Ethan’s parting shot had been that Jensen hadn’t even tried to fight to win him back. There wasn’t a thing Jensen could say in his own defense since that part had definitely been true and he couldn’t even say why. But he really did feel differently about Jared, and they hadn’t even gone out on a date yet. Frankly it scared the shit out of him.

“You know the drill, Jensen. Relationships are a gamble, not a guarantee. Plus I thought you realized by now it takes two to make or break it.”

“That how you feel about you and Brett?”

Amy sucked in her breath and he was immediately contrite. He hadn’t meant to be cruel.

“Aim.”

“No, it’s okay,” she said, her smile a bit wobbly. “He hurt me, yes. Did I have a part in it? Maybe.”

“He got another girl pregnant! How the hell is that _your_ fault?”

“I’m not saying I could’ve prevented it, but I think I ignored some signs.”

Oh now this was something Jensen could definitely relate to. “Such as?”

“He once said I was definitely the type of girl he could take home to his mom.”

“Really? He said that?”

She huffed out a small laugh. “In hindsight, it’s obvious he thought I’d be the perfect wife. The perfect _boring_ wife, a great mother to his kids and all the while he could still have his piece on the side. I was just so head over heels, it didn’t register as a red flag.”

“Well, I don’t think I’d really call it a red flag and if that was the only thing, then…” He shrugged, letting the action finish his thoughts.

“Jensen, it’s what we learn from relationships, good ones _and_ bad ones, that make the difference. I think I learned a lot from my time with Brett, both about myself and relationships.”

“I don’t want to hurt Jared. Don’t want to be hurt either.”

“I know, sweetie,” she said grabbing hold of his hand and squeezing tight. “But don’t you want that feeling of being in love, the scariness along with all the awesomeness?”

“I do,” he confessed quietly. He _especially_ wanted that with Jared.

“Me, too. I haven’t given up on finding the guy who’s right for me. I know he’s out there and I don’t want to miss him when he comes along ‘cause I’m too busy being gun-shy.”

Jensen may be stubborn but he wasn’t stupid. He got what she was trying to tell him. “Guess I better prove I have a set then, huh?”

She laughed and hugged him, the tension now eased somewhat. “I knew you’d get with the program, Ackles. Now go and ask that sweet boy out.”

Jensen groaned at her corniness, but wrapped his arms around her grateful for at least the millionth time for her friendship.

~o0o~

Jensen waited a day before fixing up a cup of coffee after the breakfast rush was over and going to the inn. He almost headed back a few times, but Jared had made the first move, it was Jensen’s turn now.

He found Jared at the front desk, the phone wedged between his ear and shoulder, his eyes locked on the computer monitor as his fingers flew over the keyboard, obviously taking a reservation.

Jensen stayed at a respectful distance until Jared hung up, but was still clicking away on the keyboard. He hadn’t noticed Jensen yet.

“Thought you were the boss ‘round here,” Jensen said.

Jared’s head snapped up, the surprise plain on his face. His eyes roamed over Jensen’s body, which was very encouraging, until his eyes hit on the coffee cup in Jensen’s hand.

“Oh god, please say you brought that for me, or at least that you’re willing to share.”

“All for you,” Jensen said, stepping forward. 

Jared made grabby hands and as soon as he claimed the cup, took off the lid, inhaled deeply, eyes closed and let out an appreciative moan.

“Doesn’t Misha make coffee?”

“Not like yours,” Jared said before taking his first sip. “Ah, god, that’s _so_ good.”

Jensen flat out blushed, pleased beyond measure, but he wasn’t ready to jump right into things. He could handle easing into it though. “So, uh, what’s got you on desk duty?”

“Rob’s sick,” Jared said with a shrug. “You know how it is, can’t be a good boss if you’re not willing to fill in where needed.”

“Gotcha,” Jensen said, sliding his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, still unsure how to approach asking Jared out. He was given another reprieve when the phone rang.

“Sorry,” Jared apologized as he set the coffee on the desk and answered the call.

Jensen felt awkward standing there as Jared took another reservation, but he’d made it this far, he was going to stick with it.

“I’m so sorry,” Jared apologized again when he’d finished up with the customer.

“’S okay,” Jensen said with a wave of his hand. “How many times have you been at the diner when I had to take care of something?”

Jared ducked his head, looking at the monitor. “True,” he said softly.

“Jare,” Jensen said just as quietly. “I’m the one who’s sorry.”

“You don’t have to be,” Jared said, his head still bent, but his eyes finding Jensen’s.

“Yeah, I do. ‘Cause I really want to go out with you.” That brought Jared’s head up, but when he stayed silent, Jensen rushed on to clarify. “I want to date you. For us to date. If that’s what you still want, I mean.”

“Yes. Absolutely!” Jared said just as the phone rang again. “Fuck,” he swore under his breath, but pointed a finger at Jensen. “Don’t you dare leave.”

“Staying put,” Jensen said with a mock salute. The hardest part was over now.

This time when Jared ended the call, he immediately punched a few buttons on the phone. “I need you to cover the front desk for me… I need ten minutes… Whatever, just get your ass over here.”

When Jared replaced the receiver in the cradle, he said, “We can go in my office and talk, if that’s okay.”

“Of course,” Jensen said.

“This is not in my job description,” Misha said as he rounded the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. “Oh. Hi, Jensen.”

“Misha,” Jensen acknowledged.

“Ten minutes,” Jared said, grabbing his coffee as he moved from behind the desk. “We’re going to my office.”

“You can take more than ten minutes,” Misha said. “Unless you really think that’s all it’s gonna take. Which, you know, maybe it will since it’s been awhile.”

“Stop talking, Misha,” Jared said, grabbing Jensen’s hand as he walked by, gently tugging him along out of the room. Jensen went willingly, but he liked the connection, the feel of Jared’s big, strong hand wrapped around his own. 

As soon as they had the door closed behind them, Jensen leaned against it while Jared went over and sat on the edge of his desk. “No backing out this time?” The words were softly said but there was definitely a hard underlying edge.

“No,” Jensen assured him. “You asking me out like that, even though I wanted it, caught me off guard. Then thoughts happened and. Well, you know the rest.”

“Yeah,” Jared said quietly.

“And I let my past relationships kinda take over my brain.”

“So you’re really bad at relationships?”

“Maybe,” Jensen said with a wince. “I’m not always good with using my words.”

“Duly noted.”

“But I want to try.” Jensen had to swallow hard, he was nervous with Jared looking at him so intently. “Can we do that? Try?”

“Yes, I’d like that.”

Jensen smiled, both relieved that Jared had forgiven him for being a dumbass but also at the earnestness in Jared’s voice.

“So dinner and a movie, right?” Jensen asked.

“Tomorrow night.” It wasn’t a question and neither was, “I’ll come pick you up at the diner at six.”

Jensen was about to argue they could meet somewhere, but it obviously was important to Jared. “Okay. If that’s what you want.”

“I do,” Jared said, standing and coming over to the door. “Now, I better go relieve Misha before he books the inn to a traveling circus or something.”

“Right,” Jensen said with a chuckle.

Jared leaned in for a kiss. It was another of those soft and sweet kisses and oh god Jensen really didn’t want it to end, but he could wait. He was sure they would be doing that more often now. And it really didn’t hurt his feelings any that Jared had made sure he had his coffee in hand as they left the office, holding it close to his chest in a protective gesture. In fact, that little thought right there had pretty much kept Jensen smiling the rest of the day.

~o0o~

Jensen was hovering, he knew he was, but he was also nervous and this was the only way he could handle it. Amy had a pretty good handle on how the diner worked from the customers to the persnickety cash register.

“Jen,” Amy said with a heavy sigh. “Seriously, you’re gonna be lucky if I don’t punch you in the nose.”

“Fine,” he snapped. 

Since Jared had insisted on picking him up for their date, Jensen was that much of a freak that he’d been ready for forty-five minutes already. Jared wasn’t due for another half an hour. Picking a fight with Amy wasn’t one of his better ideas, but at least it kept him from thinking about the date and what a disaster it could be.

“I’ve watched you close up a billion times. I think I know how to handle it!”

“Watching and doing are two different things.”

“It’s not like Sam and Jim aren’t gonna be here if there’s some kind of crisis.”

“Fine,” he said a little louder.

“I see he’s in rare form,” Danneel said, entering the diner with both Adrianne and Misha by her side.

“What are _you_ doing here?” he asked, crossing his arms and looking directly at Danneel.

“We came for moral support.”

“I don’t need any.”

“Not you, honeycakes,” Danneel said, sliding her arm over Amy’s shoulders. “I knew you’d be giving my girl a hard time.”

“And you had to bring the whole troop along with you?”

Misha stepped forward. “If by troop you mean Addy and me, then yes she did. There was no way we were going to miss Jared coming and knocking on your door to fetch you for the date.”

Jensen took a deep breath through his nose, letting it out slowly. “He’s not going to knock. He doesn’t have to. He’ll just walk through the door like he does any other damn day.”

“He better,” Adrianne said, her hands going to his hips. “No honking and expecting you to come out.”

Jensen was beginning to wish Jared would do exactly that.

“It’s proper date etiquette that he comes to the door for you,” Amy said with a nod.

Danneel came toward him then, shaking her head and tsking. “Sweetie, you aren’t seriously going to wear the ball cap are you?”

“Oh. No.” He grabbed it off his head. It was habit to put it on and he’d intended to take it off a while ago, but had forgotten.

Danneel slid her fingers into his hair as he tried to dodge her. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Just fluffing your hair up a bit.”

“It doesn’t need… that,” he grumbled even as his own hand found its way there to check for himself. “And if y’all are gonna stay, then you better order something.”

“Good idea,” Misha said, sitting down at the table right by the door. “Burger and fries all around”

“Comin’ right up,” Jensen said, turning toward the kitchen.

“Oh no you don’t,” Danneel said, latching onto his arm. “You stay right here.”

“C’mon,” he said, but it came out more pitiful than he intended. “Let me do something besides stand around here like an idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot,” Adrianne assured him. “You’re adorable and you and Jared are going to have a perfect first date.”

“Yeah,” Misha agreed. “It’s not like you two don’t know each other. And you already got the first kiss out of the way. In fact, you’ve shared more than one, so I assume you both liked it.”

“He told you?” Jensen wasn’t sure how he felt about that. It wasn’t that he minded so much if his friends _assumed_ certain things, but he did think some things needed to be private.

“Don’t be silly. Of course not,” Misha said. “I’ve known Jared long enough when he’s been kissed by a boy he likes.”

“Oh god,” Jensen groaned, covering his eyes with his hand.

“Jensen kissed a boy and he liked it,” Amy sang.

“It felt so wrong, it felt so right,” Danneel joined in and then all three girls banded together to finish off with, “So magical, soft skin, red lips, so kissable. Hard to resist, so touchable, too good to deny it.”

“That boy does have a nice mouth,” Sam said, her hip leaning against the counter.

Jensen groaned. “Oh man, not you, too.”

“I couldn’t help but notice since you two put that show on for me,” Sam said.

“Oooh, there was a show?” Danneel exclaimed, moving over to Sam. “What did they do? Did it involve nakedness?”

“No!” Jensen insisted.

“I don’t think Jared’s into public sex,” Misha said seriously with a small frown as if he were actually contemplating the idea.

“Aww,” Danneel said with a little pout.

“It’s okay, honey,” Adrianne said, giving her girlfriend a small kiss. “We’ll do something special tonight to make up for it.”

“Oh please, god, don’t tell us,” Jensen said, putting his hands over his ears.

“Hey y’all,” Jared said with a wide grin as he walked in the door. “What’s goin’ on?”

Oh thank god. Jared was early.

“Nothing,” Jensen said rushing over to him and hustling him out the door. “C’mon, let’s go.”

“I didn’t even get to say hello to everyone,” Jared complained good naturedly.

“Sure you did, you said, ‘hey y’all’.” Jensen continued to push him down the street to where Jared’s car was parked.

“What were they doing?” Jared asked, laughter in his voice.

“Being morons. Forget about them, let’s concentrate on us.”

Jared gave him a funny look but let the matter drop. On the drive to the restaurant they chatted about their day and Jensen tried unsuccessfully to get the name of the movie they were going to see out of Jared. Once at the restaurant, Jared followed him into the building.

“This place is nice,” Jared said as Jensen guided them to a booth in the back.

“It’s nothing fancy.” Jensen felt a flush of pleasure that Jared liked it.

“Which is part of its charm. And you have your own table?”

Jensen gave a half shrug, still basking in the early success of the date. “I used to come here a lot when I first moved to Red Bluff. Ty helped me figure out how to run Lukes.”

“Ty?”

“Yeah, he owns the place. Inherited it from his parents. And don’t even bother with the menu. If Ty’s here tonight he’ll just bring you what he thinks you should eat.”

“Awesome,” Jared said with a laugh. “I like this place better by the minute.”

“That’s exactly what I like to hear,” Ty said, coming up to their table, his hand falling heavily on Jensen’s shoulder. “Where you been, man? Haven’t seen you for a coon’s age.” He spun toward Jared. “That your fault?” 

He was looking at Jared as he said it and Jensen knew he was kidding, but still he popped up and gave Ty a one-armed hug and whispered, “Don’t make a big deal about this. Please.”

Ty thumped his back a couple of times. “I gotcha, brother.”

Even with that reassurance, Jensen still felt some unease when he sat back down and Ty held out his hand to Jared. “Ty Olsson.”

“Jared Padalecki,” Jared said, taking the offered hand and giving it a shake.

“Don’t believe anything he’s told you about me,” Ty said with a glance and a smirk at Jensen.

“That’d be shame then,” Jared said with an exaggerated sigh of regret. “He said y’all made the best lasagna I’d ever taste.”

“Oh. Well then,” Ty said with a chuckle, “that part’s true. So… the full spread then. Beer or wine? Never mind, I’ll surprise you. Back in a few.”

“Man, you shoulda brought me here a long time ago,” Jared said with a wide grin.

“Hey! I thought you loved the diner.”

“Aw, you know I do,” Jared said, leaning into him. “Just it’s kinda nice to be somewhere new.”

“You mean without all the folks in town nosing into our business?”

“Yeah, that,” Jared agreed, his dimples becoming even more pronounced. “If one more person told me how good we’d be together, I think I might’ve shot ‘em.”

“Guess they’re all gonna think they had something to do with this.”

“What? You asking me out?”

“I s’pose,” Jensen said, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck. He was so damn nervous and really shouldn’t have waited so long to start dating again.

“Let ‘em think all their _suggestions_ made us cave. We know the truth.” Jared put his hand on Jensen’s knee and gave it a squeeze.

“Right,” Jensen agreed. “Wait. What truth?”

“You couldn’t resist me,” Jared said smugly.

“Oh bullshit! You couldn’t take your eyes off me the minute you saw me.”

“True. Even though you don’t know how to evenly salt French fries.”

“Fuckin’ Murray,” Jensen said with a roll of his eyes. “You didn’t have any trouble scarfing ‘em down, if I recall.”

“Can’t let food go to waste. Thought you knew that about me.” Jared tsked.

“So that’s my main attraction, huh? I own a diner?”

“Well, I’d be lying if I said it’s not a plus. Coffee ready whenever I need it, food, and lots of it to fit any mood. So yeah, that got added to the pro column.”

“I’m afraid to ask what the cons are.”

“Well,” Jared said with a huge sigh, “I hate to tell you this.”

Jensen mentally went through his list of detractions. Oh god, this wasn’t going to go well.

“You don’t treat Chad very well.”

Jensen conceded to that with a nod and waited for the rest. After a few moments of silence, he prompted, “Go on, I can take it. I’m a big boy.”

Jared leered at him. “There’s another one for the pro list.”

Jensen rolled his eyes and groaned. “Oh man.”

Jared was laughing, even clapped his hands together once and Jensen couldn’t help but smile. Jared’s good mood was infectious.

“There,” Jared said quietly, his smile warm and intimate. “That’s what I was waiting for.”

“What? To be a goofball?”

“No, for you to relax. Feel better now?”

Jensen thought for a moment. His nerves had settled and it didn’t feel like it was such a big deal anymore. “Yeah,” he answered softly.

The rest of the evening went better than Jensen could have ever dreamed. They never ran out of conversation, though why he thought that’d be a problem he couldn’t say. Ty stopped by their table several times to check on them and even that didn’t bother Jensen, as it didn’t feel like they were being intruded upon. 

The movie was fine, the latest blockbuster, but Jensen couldn’t really say what it was about. His mind was so focused on the man sitting beside him, the way their legs were pressed together, how nice Jared’s hands were. Jensen couldn’t help but wonder just how capable Jared was with those long fingers and strong thighs.

On the drive back home Jared was listing the reasons why Ty’s lasagna should be a national treasure. Jensen didn’t want the night to end, but he couldn’t invite Jared up to his place. Amy would be there, although he was sure she would gladly make herself scarce, he thought it would be more than awkward to ask her.

“Hey,” Jared said, putting his hand on Jensen’s knee and squeezing. “Where’d you go?”

“Huh?”

“You got all quiet.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you’re talking enough for the both of us,” Jensen teased with no bite.

“Actually, I asked if you wanted to come over to my place.”

“You did? Oh. Um, yeah. I’d like that.”

“Don’t go getting all nervous on me again,” Jared said with a laugh.

“Can’t help it,” Jensen mumbled. “Been a long time.”

“For me, too,” Jared admitted softly. “We can just have a nightcap and leave the rest for another night.”

“No!” Jensen answered a little too loudly. He cleared his throat. “I mean. I don’t really wanna go home right now.”

“Okay then,” Jared said with a chuckle.

“Just, everyone’s gonna know if I spend the night. I mean, you know, the town being all into our business, they’ve probably got a spy on the lookout for us.”

“That a problem for you?”

“Not for me.”

“Me neither. In fact, I think everyone would be disappointed if they didn’t have that bit of juicy gossip in the morning.”

“I doubt Rev. Tisdale will be amongst the gossip mongers.”

Jared laughed and patted Jensen’s knee a few times as he pulled into his driveway and put the car in park. “No, hopefully he’d be telling them something scripturally pertinent on the evils of dishing dirt.”

“And everyone will nod and murmur apologies and go right back to it.”

“Probably,” Jared agreed, his hand on the door handle.

“Wait,” Jensen said, grabbing Jared’s arm. “We probably should talk about something first.”

Jared looked worried but let his hand fall back to his lap. “Okay.”

“We go in there,” Jensen said, canting his head toward Jared’s house, “then we’re in a relationship, right? I mean, we’re really doing this dating thing.”

“Yeah,” Jared said cautiously.

“Okay good,” Jensen said as he pushed out a breath of relief. “But it’s just you and me, okay?”

Jared looked confused. “In the relationship?”

“Yeah.”

“Who else would there be?”

“Well, you know, I get that it works for some people, like Misha, but that’s not me.”

Jared’s brow cleared and he grinned, his dimples even making an appearance. “Jensen, that’s definitely not me either. It works for Misha and the girls, but just because I’m his friend doesn’t mean I’m looking for the same thing. I don’t want multiple partners.” His expression darkened slightly before narrowing his eyes and adding, “Didn’t even like sharing my crayons in Kindergarten.”

“Oh, thank god. Me neither. I mean sharing. Not crayons but …”

Jared cut him off. “God, you’re adorable,” He leaned in for a quick kiss essentially silencing Jensen’s babble. “Now let’s go inside so all the gossip mongers won’t see just how fucking adorable I think you are.”

Jared got out of the car. He didn’t wait for Jensen, just walked slowly to the front door, unlocked and opened it, and continued into the house. He left the door open and when Jensen saw a light go on, he took a few deep breaths before following Jared’s footsteps.

He closed the front door quietly behind him and watched as Jared went into the kitchen and got something out of the fridge. He heard Jared flip the switch so it left them in the dark, but a moment later another light came on from down the hallway, drawing Jensen in. He’d been to Jared’s house a few times, but mostly it had been to shoot the breeze out on the porch. He was kind of glad this was the first time he’d be seeing Jared’s bedroom. He was already semi-hard when he made it into the room. Jared had shed his shirt, socks and shoes. His belt was undone, hanging free, his fly open.

Awestruck, Jensen perused at all that skin he was finally going to be able to touch. They might have stared at each other for a minute or ten, Jensen wasn’t sure, until Jared finally moved to his nightstand, pulled the drawer open, dug in it a moment before holding out a bottle of lube and a condom to Jensen.

“I’m not gonna last long,” Jensen said, his hand shaking a little as he took the items from Jared. “I wasn’t kidding when I said it’s been a while.”

“It’s okay,” Jared said with a smile before bending and shucking his jeans. He stepped out of them and lay down on the bed, holding out his hand. “We can do it more than once, you know.”

Jensen laughed, closing his eyes briefly as some of the tension and awkwardness lifted. 

“C’mon, man,” Jared complained. “I’ve been waitin’ forever to see you naked.”

Now that he felt a little more relaxed, Jensen took his time, letting Jared get his fill. He wasn’t as cut as Jared, but Jensen wasn’t ashamed of his body. He winked at Jared when he was ready to get out of his jeans and turned around, bending over and giving Jared a nice view of his ass.

“Oh yeah,” Jared said breathlessly and when Jensen turned back around, it was his turn to have his breath taken away. Jared was stroking his dick with one hand, cupping his balls with the other. “You ain’t the only one who won’t last long,” Jared said, as a drop of pre-come gathered at the tip of his shaft.

Jensen didn’t even think, just went right to the bed, straddled Jared’s legs and licked the head of Jared’s cock. Jared moved his hand down to the base, Jensen’s mouth following its path. Jared moaned long and loud and Jensen groaned in return. He longed to touch himself, but knew he wouldn’t stop if he started and that definitely wasn’t how he wanted their first time together to go.

He bobbed his head a few more times, letting his tongue get to know Jared’s cock a little better, intending to pull off and move up Jared’s body to do some more exploring. But Jared arched his pelvis and grabbed Jensen’s arm, his fingers digging in painfully.

“Oh fuck, I’m sorry, Jensen.” And Jared was coming in his mouth. Jensen was surprised but not disappointed and swallowed down every drop. When Jensen looked up, Jared’s had an arm thrown over his face. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“I’m not,” Jensen said, crawling up Jared’s body, kissing and touching as much skin as possible. “You ain’t kicking me out are you?”

Jared lifted his arm slightly to peek at him. “Hell no.”

“Okay then.” 

Jensen was surprised again when Jared wrapped his arms around Jensen and pulled him closer and kissed him. Quite thoroughly in fact. Again, Jensen lost time a little bit, not sure whether they’d been making out, rubbing and writhing against each other, for ten minutes or an hour.

“Jesus,” Jensen said, breaking the kiss when he had to catch his breath. “Everything you do is such a fuckin’ turn on.”

“Ha,” Jared said loudly. “Ever take a look at yourself?”

“Yeah, whatever,” Jensen scoffed, but then all thoughts left his brain as Jared started circling his hips.

“Think you still got some work to do there, sparky.”

“Okay, I take it back. You thinking you’re funny? Not sexy.”

“Uh-huh,” Jared said, wrapping his legs around Jensen and rolling them over. “What do you think about that?”

Jensen just nodded, because _that_ , that was pretty fan-fucking-tastic. It pushed some of his buttons that Jared could flip them so easily.

“Okay if I ride you?” Jared asked as he reached for the lube.

“Like you need to ask,” Jensen said, his hands framing Jared’s hips and watched in fascination as Jared squeezed some lube onto his fingers, reached around and slicked himself up.

“Get the condom on,” Jared said, panting a little. Jensen could see Jared’s dick had fattened up and it was such a turn on Jared was so excited that Jensen was about to fuck him, that he wanted more after already having had an orgasm. Jared wanted this as much as he did.

Jensen fumbled with the package, finally tearing it open with his teeth. Jared helped roll the condom down Jensen’s cock, then poured a bit more lube on it, pumping his hand a few times.

“Stop,” Jensen said, knocking Jared’s hand away. “I’m good. You ready?”

Jared nodded and moved into position, Jensen cupping Jared’s thighs, spreading his ass a little as Jared guided Jensen’s cock. Jared slid down slowly, their eyes locked, and Jensen couldn’t help but move his hips. Jared felt too good and he wanted more.

When Jared was fully seated, Jensen moved his hands back to Jared’s hips as Jared grabbed onto the headboard for some leverage. Jared moved slow at first, but then built up a pretty good pace in a matter of moments. Jensen was already too far gone to do much more than hang on. 

“You like that?” Jared asked, sounding beautifully breathless from his exertion. 

“Yeah. It’s perfect. You’re so fuckin’ tight, baby.”

Jared smiled at the endearment, squeezed his muscles around Jensen and sped up his movements. “You gonna come for me?”

“Oh yeah. Fuck yeah. Do it, Jared, make me come.”

The time for talking was done, all that filled the room now was skin hitting skin with a mixture of panting and ecstatic moans. Jensen’s orgasm was the sweetest release that had his back arching and muscles locking.

When he finally reached normal comprehension again, Jared was easing off him, taking care of the condom and bringing a washcloth back from the bathroom to do a little cleanup.

Jensen had trouble keeping his eyes open by the time Jared snuggled back down beside him. “We waited too long to do that,” Jensen murmured. “Went too fast.”

“Only if we’re never gonna do it again,” Jared said with a contended sigh. “Which we _so_ are.”

“Mmm.”

“We can get some rest first.”

“Mmm.”

Jared chuckled. “I see how it is. You’re worthless after an orgasm.”

“And you like to chat and cuddle, I s’pose.”

“I’ll settle for the cuddle.” Jared threw a leg over Jensen’s, pulling him closer.

“I can do that,” Jensen conceded.

“I’ll wake you up in a coupla hours so we can start over.”

“Mm-hmm.” It sounded good to Jensen. Sleep then sex. With Jared. Yep, pretty damn near perfect. Although he still thought they probably should’ve done it weeks ago. He wasn’t going to share that with anyone else except Jared. The whole freaking town already knew enough of their business.

**EPILOGUE – Six Months Later**

It was still early enough Jared could – if he wanted – crawl back in bed after having answered the call of nature and get some more sleep. Instead he leaned against the doorframe of the bedroom and took in the sight of Jensen in his bed. More often than not, Jensen was sleeping over and Jared couldn’t deny he loved it. His boyfriend looked delectable, all rumpled with his hair mussed, his face peaceful, and his lips slightly parted. Yeah, Jared could look at that sight forever.

“What’d I tell you ‘bout starin’ at me while I’m sleepin’?” Jensen’s voice was sleep-gruff and only upped his sexy quotient. His eyes were still closed, his pose relaxed, in other words, not in any way making Jared want to look away.

“Not to do it,” Jared said unapologetically. “How did you even know I was?”

“I can hear you breathing in the doorway.” Jensen finally cracked an eye open. “You’re naked.”

“I was planning on coming back to bed and snuggling with you.”

Jensen closed his eye and made a face. “It’s too early to snuggle.”

“You love the way I snuggle.”

“I _tolerate_ your octopus tendencies because the sex is awesome.”

Jared couldn’t stay still after hearing that and quickly got back in bed and curled his body around Jensen’s backside. “You think we have awesome sex?”

“Quit fishing for compliments.”

“True, you do moan my name real pretty while I’m sexing you up.”

“Oh my god,” Jensen scoffed. “How old are you?”

“You keep me young, baby.”

Jensen giggled and Jared felt like doing a jig or something because Jensen didn’t do that very often. It made Jared feel ten feet tall when he was able to elicit an outright giggle, and acting a bit like a dork was a small price to pay.

“See, you can’t resist me,” Jared said, nuzzling Jensen’s neck.

“You’re a freak and I should move out.”

Jared smiled against Jensen’s skin. “You don’t live here, remember?”

“Oh. Right.”

Not the way Jared wanted to approach this conversation, but since Jensen opened the door, he wasn’t about the pass it up. “But I think you should.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that.”

Oh man, this was going to either be way easier than Jared thought or Jensen was about to break his heart. “And what conclusion have you reached?”

“Well. I know Amy and Chris are getting pretty hot and heavy, even though she thinks they’re being all stealthy and I’m oblivious.” Jensen took a deep breath and let it out slowly, taking hold of Jared’s hand, pressing it into his chest a little. “But I don’t think she wants to move in with him. So I thought, maybe if you wouldn’t mind, I could move in here and let her take over the apartment above the diner.”

“Roll over,” Jared said quietly.

Jensen whined. “But I’m all warm and comfortable just the way we are.”

“Yeah, don’t tell me you don’t like to snuggle,” Jared said, tightening his arms around Jensen briefly. “C’mon, I wanna look at you if we’re going to have this conversation.”

“Jared, can’t we talk about it in the morning?”

“It is the morning,” Jared insisted, because it was. Any time that ended in A.M. was morning.

“Okay, can we talk about it when it’s not _insane o’clock_ in the morning?”

“’Kay,” Jared agreed after a moment. “But just so you know, you’re moving all your stuff in here this weekend.”

“Fine,” Jensen growled. “Now let me get some more sleep.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Jared said as he went back to nuzzling Jensen’s neck while running the tips of his fingers down Jensen’s chest, circling his nipples lightly before continuing down to his navel. Jensen wiggled his ass against Jared, moaning.

“Should I stop? I know you wanted to fall back asleep,” Jared said innocently.

“Shut up,” Jensen said as he grabbed Jared’s hand and guided it to his cock. “Getting me off always makes me sleepy, so get to it.”

“Yes, sir,” Jared said, rotating his hips a little. He could get them both off quickly and enjoy some afterglow snuggling before either of them had to get up to go to work.

He really had no idea just how perfect Red Bluff was going to be when he first saw it. Now he couldn’t imagine his life being any better. His business was doing well, he’d fallen in love and now Jensen was moving in. Nope, couldn’t get much more perfect than that.

 

~end~


End file.
